Evil Redifined
by Godzillafan93
Summary: Following the disappearance of their comrades, RPD STARS Alpha Team sets out to locate their crashed chopper, deep in the Arklay Forest. Follows "The Next Day."
1. Prologue

Evil Redefined

_ The Umbrella Corporation had its secrets._

_ STARS Bravo Team, on the hunt for a group of serial killers deep within the Arklay Forest stumbled upon an abandoned Umbrella Corporation laboratory…and encountered the horrors within._

_ Rebecca Chambers, Bravo Team's rookie medic, encountered the escaped convict Billy Coen. At first mistrustful of one another, the two were forced to work together in order to escape Umbrella's twisted experiments. Ultimately, they encountered the man behind the madness, former Umbrella researcher Doctor James Marcus. The duo foiled Marcus's plans to spread his specially engineered Tyrant virus across the globe, putting an end to the resurrected scientist._

_ Meanwhile, young SWAT Mat Dawson fell in with a group of Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasures troops, sent to clean up a spill at a _second_ facility, this one still a going concern. The team encountered Timothy Cain, a former Major within the Company's security forces and now an agent of Doctor Marcus. Manipulating the test subjects still inside the facility, codenamed the HIVE, Cain killed off the commandos one by one. Mat was the only survivor, and only through the sacrifice of Rain Ocampo, one of the commandos, who gave her life to destroy the Hive._

_ The night gave way to day, and Enrico Marini, Bravo Team's captain, attempted to lead the remnants of his squad to safety. Ultimately, they came upon a strange mansion deep inside the Arklay Forest. Seeking sanctuary, Enrico led his two surviving teammates, Richard Aiken and Forest Speyer, into the Mansion. But things were not what they seemed…_

_ Umbrella bio-weapons were loose inside the estate as well. Infected, zombie-like humans mortally wounded Kenneth Sullivan; a giant snake poisoned Richard while he was trying to protect Rebecca; _something_ drove Forest insane, prompting him to attack Mat and forcing him to kill the STARS member in self defense._

_ Back in Raccoon City, STARS Alpha Team was eager to go on a rescue mission for their friends on Bravo Team. They awaited only the word of Albert Wesker, their Captain._

_ But Alpha Team would find more in the Arklay Forest then their wayward comrades. _

_ Evil is constantly changing, constantly reshaping and redefining itself. And it is always hungry…_

Prologue:

The Forest

(JOSEPH)

Joseph Frost was going stir-crazy. He hated sitting around; he wanted to be doing _something_, anything. His friends were out there, somewhere, probably hurt and possibly dead…

And where was Joseph? Stuck on the roof of the RPD building. Joseph had come upstairs, hoping to be alone with his thoughts. Once there, he had disassembled his shotgun and begun to clean it.

The weapon was a Benelli M3, but modified by Richard Aiken so that it was pump-action and could fire solid lead slugs. Richard had said the extra firepower could come in handy…

_Richard_ Joseph thought. _I hope you're okay, buddy._

Joseph had been a member of Bravo Team, promoted to Alpha only after the new girl, Rebecca Chambers, had joined the Force. Joseph didn't really know her; she was an egghead and a bit shy. But she wasn't so bad looking, either…

Joseph had come to the roof to be alone, only to find Alpha Team's pilot, Brad Vickers. Brad was doing maintenance work on the remaining STARS chopper. He did a lot of muttering to himself, and was rather jittery. Had it been anyone else, Joseph would have thought that was a sign of nervous. But Brad did that all the time. Joseph thought it might be a sign of mental imbalance.

The door to the roof burst open, causing both Joseph and Brad to jerk their heads in its direction. In strode Peyton Welles, one of the SWAT team leaders. Joseph did his best to be invisible. Welles looked like he was in the mood to start tearing new assholes for anything with a STARS patch.

No such luck. "Frost!" Welles spat. "Frost, where's your captain? I wanna see that sonuvabitch, now!"

"I'm sorry sir, but I don't know" Joseph said truthfully. He _didn't_ know where Captain Wesker was, and he could sympathize with wanting to harm the man. _Half the STARS go missing and he vanishes without a trace…_

Welles kept going as if Joseph hadn't said anything. "That asshole Marini goes gallivanting off with _my_ men, and doesn't even ask permission first? What the hell is this? How am I supposed to run an outfit when I can't find my own goddamn men?"

Joseph debated the merits of responding versus those of not. He'd never been good, even in the SEALs, at seeing rhetorical questions.

He was saved by the arrival of the rest of his team.

"You want to calm down, Peyton" said Barry Burton. Barry, with his broad shoulders and red beard, looked like some sort of barbarian lumberjack. He was a nice enough guy, but definitely _not_ someone you wanted to cross.

He was also a former member of SWAT, which was why he could address Welles on a first name basis.

"I don't want to be calm!" the SWAT captain spat. He looked like he wanted to be spitting fire, but couldn't quite get up enough steam for it. "He _took_ Dawson God-only-knows-where, and now he's gone! What the _hell_ am I supposed to do?"

"Wait, like the rest of us" said Chris Redfield, standing beside Barry. Joseph liked the Alpha team marksmen; he and Forest Speyer had invited Joseph to the shooting range with them on numerous occasions. He was a great cop, even if he was former Air Force.

"You want me to wait?" Welles demanded. "So help me God, what _I_ want to do is rip Enrico Ma-fucking-rini a new asshole. Since he's not here, Albert Wesker will do."

"Well, Wesker's not here either" said Jill Valentine, joining the other two Alphas on the roof. "What do you want us to do about it? It's not like we can just pull him out of our asses."

Welles looked like he wanted to argue with that, but couldn't find a flaw in Jill's logic. That was the thing about Jill; she was smart _and_ attractive, in a very mature sort of way.

She was also dating Edward Dewey, Bravo Team's pilot and sniper. Joseph often wondered if Ed knew just how lucky he was.

Then again, maybe he wasn't so lucky. After all, wasn't he missing?

Welles's eyes darted around, looking for something for him to vent at. "What are you all waiting for? Your B team and my man are out there somewhere, and you're sitting around on your asses like it's some kind of picnic? Let's see some action!"

"We can't move until Captain Wesker gets here" said Joseph cautiously. "Besides, it's RPD policy. We have to wait twenty-four hours before a search and rescue can be mounted."

"But by then, they're all gonna be dead!" Welles screamed. "Incompetence, I swear to God! Wesker thinks he can set up his own little empire and take whatever he wants from the rest of the Force, does he? I'll show _him_. I'll-"

"You'll take it up with Chief Irons, Peyton" said Barry quietly. "And you'll keep in mind that you're not the only person here who's missing someone. Enrico Marini is one of my best friends. Believe me, we wouldn't be here if we didn't have to. We'd be out there, finding Bravo Team and your Mathias Dawson."

"He shouldn't even _be_ out there in the first place!" shouted Welles. "I come into work this morning, only to learn that one of my own fucking men has gone missing on a mission I was never even informed of? What the hell kind of way to start the day is that? Who authorized this?"

"_I _did" said a calm voice from the doorway. All heads turned to look at Albert Wesker, who lounged against the doorframe casually, his trademark sunglasses in place despite the fact that it was well past dark.

"Just where have you been?" Welles demanded. "Wesker, you bastard! You went over my head! If you ever do that again, I'll-"

Wesker didn't interrupt Welles. It was more like he just refused to recognize the SWAT captain's right to keep talking. "Sorry I was late. I've been trying to get authorization from Chief Irons for the past few hours." He gestured toward the chopper. "Brad, can she fly? Because we're going in, just as soon as possible."  
"Good to go, sir" Brad said, at the same time Chris asked: "We're going in _now_? As in, this minute?"

"Glad to hear it" Wesker said to Brad, before turning to Chris. "And yes, we are. Is that a problem?"

Chris shook his head. "Hell no, sir."

"Good." Wesker turned to look at the other Alphas. "I want all of you to gather whatever you think we'll need: handguns, ammunition, and first aid supplies. We'll go in light; this is a rescue mission, remember." He looked over at Joseph. "Glad to see that you're so prepared."

"Thank you, sir!" Joseph beamed; praise from Albert Wesker was rare indeed.

But Wesker had already moved on, talking to Brad and Jill. Welles glared after him angrily.

"We aren't finished yet, Wesker!" he shouted. "You authorized the use of one of my men without my permission or even my knowledge."

Wesker didn't even look up. "Attempts were made to contact you, Peyton. If you are not inside the Precinct when such attempts are made, then it isn't anyone else's fault, is it?"

Welles stood there, spluttering for a moment. "I'll-I'll-"

"You'll leave the helipad now" said Wesker. "We're in the middle of preparations, and you're in the way. Good-bye." Then he turned and began to help Barry load supply crates into the chopper.

Welles spluttered something else, incoherent and probably not complimentary. Wesker raised his hand in a cheerful wave, again without turning his head or acknowledging the SWAT captain. At a loss, Welles stormed away.

Joseph didn't watch the routed police officer slink away. He was too busy getting ready. There was a lot to be done.

But at least he wasn't bored anymore…

It took him five minutes to get his gear together. Since it was a rescue mission, all Joseph took was his custom Benelli and his Samurai Edge, plus a few rounds of reserve ammo. He doubted he'd need it, but all the same. Luck favored the prepared.

He grabbed his knee and elbow pads, and strapped them on. Those made shooting crouched or prone for long periods of time easier, and again, there was luck to consider.

The last thing Joseph did was check the flashlight on his Benelli. Seeing that it was fully charged, he headed back upstairs.

"I don't care about _that_" Joseph heard Brad say as he climbed the stairs leading up to the roof. "We don't _need_ it!"

"What's it gonna hurt?" Barry asked.

"What's it gonna _help_?" Brad countered.

Curious, Joseph stepped around the corner, to see what the two were arguing about. Brad squatted on the inside of his bird, trying to keep Barry from carrying a large, black metal box onboard. Joseph blinked. _Why is Barry trying to take the rocket?_ The rocket launcher was part of Chief Irons' rather infamous paranoia, but Joseph couldn't think of a single instance when it would be useful. Maybe back in his old days as a SEAL. But with the RPD? The thing was just a waste of money.

"What's the problem, gentlemen?"  
All three STARS whirled around to see Wesker coming up from the RPD's rear lot. He was already suited up, his Samurai Edge holstered opposite the heavy maglite he habitually carried, his dark blue uniform immaculate. Despite the time of day, he still had on his aviator's sunglasses.

Brad pointed an accusatory finger at Barry, like a petulant child trying to shift blame. "S-sorry sir. It was Barry. He was trying to bring along the launcher, but _I_ told him that-"

"It's fine" Wesker said calmly. "It won't matter one way or the other." He paused. "And Brad? Lighten up, just a little."

"Yes sir."

Wesker turned and motioned to Joseph. "Come along" he said. "Chris and Jill are already aboard."

Joseph hurried after Wesker, scrambling into the chopper…

The flight was rather uneventful. The STARS sat in silence, aside from occasional monosyllabic comments passing between Chris and Brad in the cockpit, and the constant spin and _click_ of Barry as he fidgeted with his revolver, the Silver Serpent.

Joseph guessed they were all thinking about their opposites on Bravo Team. He knew he was.

Joseph had known the men on Bravo Team since he'd joined the police force. He'd served with Richard Aiken back when the two had been in narcotics; he'd gone to the shooting range along with Edward Dewey, Forest Speyer, and Chris Redfield; both he and Enrico Marini were former soldiers. He'd even known Mat Dawson, the kid from SWAT, pretty well. He'd never really talked to Kevin Dooley, and Rebecca Chambers was too new for him to have known, but he still hoped they were all okay…

"Hello? STARS Bravo? This is Alpha Team. Is anyone out there? Over."

Brad had been repeating the radio cal for the last fifteen minutes. There was no answer. He was clearly beginning to loose all hope of there being one. Joseph had to agree. Surely by now they would have heard _something_…

"There!" shouted Chris, pointing at something on the ground. "That looks like their bird."  
"Shit, you're right" Brad said. "Hang on folks, I'm takin' us down."

Joseph felt the helicopter descend, then a jolt as the skids met the ground. Barry slid open the heavy door, then made an abbreviated leap out of the troop bay, his head barely missing the rotors. Wesker and Jill were right behind him. Joseph squared his shoulders, racked his shotgun, and followed suit…

Joseph took point on clearing Bravo's helicopter. It was obviously totaled and obviously abandoned, but all the same, they needed to check it.

Joseph ran his fingers along the flashlight mounted on the rail of his Benelli, turning it on. The light fell on a slick stain along the side of the chopper, and immediately he felt sick. All the same he pressed on, the stench of death getting stronger…

The sight of Kevin, or at least what had once _been_ Kevin, made Joseph loose everything he'd eaten throughout the day, and a little bit left over from the day before.

"What happened?" Chris asked, jogging forward. Joseph couldn't stop being sick, so he just pointed vaguely ahead of him. Chris stepped into the chopper and got the message soon enough.

"Son of a bitch" he muttered. "What could have done this?"

"I don't know" said Barry, patting Joseph on the back as he tried to catch his breath. "Let's just hope it doesn't come back."

"Brad, radio back to headquarters" Wesker said over the shortwave. "Tell them we have one KIA: Kevin Dooley. Over."  
"Roger that" Brad responded. In the darkness, the well lit cockpit of the chopper stood out starkly, and Joseph saw him mutter one word. _Shit._ It was a fairly apt summation.

"Okay people, let's spread out" said Wesker, gesturing with his left hand. "I want a sweep of the area. Find out what went on here." He sounded calm, but Joseph noticed that his right hand never left the butt of his Samurai Edge, riding on his hip.

Joseph headed toward a stand of tall grass. He heard a footstep behind him and spun around, aiming his shotgun…at Jill, who took a step back.

"Easy, partner" she said. "Watch your back."

Joseph lowered the shotgun. "Sorry. You too."

But Jill wasn't listening anymore. She had headed farther ahead, her mind somewhere else. _Probably worried about Edward_ Joseph thought. Then he heard something rustling in the grass before him, and his mind went to the job.

(JILL)

There was a body in the ditch. Jill didn't recognize the man, only that he wore some sort of military uniform, with the stained MP patch on his sleeve.

Curious, Jill rolled the man over. _Why is there an MP all the way out here?_ she wondered. She leaned forward, trying to study the head with her flashlight. The beam wasn't very powerful, and was casting all sorts of weird shadows, but it looked like the guy had been shot through and through in the head. Execution style. _What the hell?_

"Hey Joseph?" she called out. "C'mere, buddy. I need your help. Joseph?"

(JOSEPH)

Joseph heard Jill calling his name. He'd been staring at the grass for a moment, but when nothing leapt out to end him, he relaxed.

He turned to face Jill just as she shouted his name again.

"What is it?" he asked.

Then he saw a look of pure horror cross Jill's face, illuminated ominously in the glare of her flashlight. He spun around just in time to see something leap out of the grass, gaping jaws wide open to clamp onto his throat…

(JILL)

Jill watched in horror as three enormous dogs leapt out of the grass and attacked Joseph from all sides. The one in the lead knocked him off his feet, pinning his riot gun to his chest as it went for his throat.

Joseph kicked and fought, but he was being overwhelmed; the dogs simply everywhere at once. The two in the back tore at his arms and legs, while the one on top bit at his face and neck.

Jill had the Samurai Edge up and had opened fire, her gunshots joining Joseph's as he tried to kill the dog immediately on top of him. He fired until the slide locked back, the gun almost up against the dog's chest.

Jill kept firing until her own gun did the same, even after Joseph let out a wet gurgle and was still, even after the dogs began to tear off large chunks of his body.

"No" she said softly. "No, _Joseph_…"

She took a step back. In the sudden quiet, the sound of her boot snapping a rotten branch caused the dog closest to her to perk up its ears, its head whipping around in her direction. _Oh no_ Jill thought, taking another frantic step backward…And falling flat on her back, the dog bounding toward her.

The dog jerked back in midair, its body a ruined mess. "C'mon!" Barry shouted, gesturing with his hand, the other trying to steady the Silver Serpent as he prepared for a second shot.

Beside him stood Chris, his handgun also ready. "Let's go, Jill" he said, offering her his hand. She took it, climbing unsteadily to her feet.

"Go on!" Barry shouted. "I'll catch up."

"You sure?" Chris asked.

"Yeah" he replied curtly. "Just get going!"

Chris shoved Kill ahead, urging her forward. "C'mon!" he shouted, echoing Barry. "Back to the chopper!"

"Where's Wesker?" Jill asked, fumbling in the dark for a spare magazine. In the process, she dropped her flashlight, and reflexively ducked to grab it.

Because of that, the dog leaping for her went over her head, instead going after Chris. She saw him raise his arm to take the bite from the dog's open jaws…

Then, the dog let out a yelp, and fell to the side. A few feet away, Wesker lowered his handgun. "Let's _move_, people!" he shouted, his cool veneer suddenly gone. He was just as keyed up as the rest of them, Jill realized. He just hid it better.

She saw Barry break off and fall back, flicking out the cylinder of his revolver as he did so. He tried rather unsuccessfully to reload the weapon in the dark, muttered a curse, and shoved it back into its holster, which normally hung across his chest and in the running had worked its way to his stomach. He pulled out his own Samurai Edge, then ran backwards, firing as he went. His weapon fired heavier .40 slugs, and kicked more, but Barry was still more then capable of covering their retreat to the chopper.

Except, the chopper wasn't there anymore.

"Wait!" Jill heard Wesker shout, at the same time Chris yelled out "You son of a bitch!" She looked up in time to see the chopper rising over their heads, circling for a moment before scurrying away.

"Don't stop!" Wesker shouted to her. He pointed up ahead. "Get going! Head that way. I think I saw some sort of structure there. Hurry!"

Jill nodded, then sprinted in the direction he had pointed. Behind her, she could hear the sounds of the other STARS as they fired into the night. The sounds were rather small and pitiful, compared to the howls of the dogs as they charged the gauntlet…

Resolving itself out of the darkness was an enormous mansion. Jill ducked between two broken down fence posts, putting on her last burst of speed for the front door. She shoved it open and darted inside, holding it for Wesker, who staggered in next. He leveled his Samurai Edge, firing two shots into the darkness. Jill didn't think he could see anything, until she heard a dog yelp in pain.

Barry hurtled out of the darkness and tried to pull the door closed behind him.

"No!" Jill shouted. "What about Chris?"

But Wesker put a hand on her shoulder and gently led her away.

"Jill," he said quietly, "he's not coming. He didn't make it. We're all that's left."


	2. The Inhuman

Part I:

Jill

Chapter 1: The Inhuman

(BARRY)

"What do you mean, 'he didn't make it'?" Jill asked. She looked from Barry to Wesker, her face horrified. "He-he's still out there. We can't just leave him!" She started toward the door, started to yank it open even though Barry was still leaning against it.

There was a warning click from Wesker's Samurai Edge as he cocked the handgun. "Jill, no" he said calmly. "We can't risk opening the door and letting more of those things in here. It's too dangerous."

"But Chris-"

"Chris was a trained soldier. He knew the risks. We can't risk our own safety for him" said Barry.

Jill looked at him coldly. "How can you say that? You're his _friend_! And you're just going to leave him out there?"

Barry nodded solemnly. "If I have to."

A sudden sharp crack from behind them made all three STARS whirl around.

"What was that?" Barry asked, although he suspected he already knew the answer.

"Gunfire" said Wesker coldly.

"That could be Chris" said Jill, stepping toward the double doors.

Wesker nodded. "Jill, go check it out."

Barry stepped forward. "I'll go too. Chris and I…we go way back."

"Right" agreed Wesker. He ejected the magazine from his handgun, pocketed it, then loaded a fresh one. "I'll stay here and secure this area" he said, chambering a round. "If you run into trouble, you should come back out here."

"Right" said Jill.

Barry took up a position on one side of the door, Jill on the other. When she jerked open the door, Barry hurried forward, his Samurai Edge at the ready. Jill followed behind him, watching his back.

They were in a large dining room, with a long table in the middle. There was no food set out, but all the places were set. Barry was reminded of a ghost story he'd read as a kid, about a castle where the spirits routinely moved the furniture around so they could have their meetings. There was certainly something spooky about a supposedly deserted mansion having a set table.

"Barry!" exclaimed Jill, darting past him. He turned around, away from the table, to see what had gotten her attention.

There was a lit fireplace at one end of the room. _Curiouser and curiouser_ Barry thought. Then he saw what had gotten Jill's attention, and he too dashed forward.

Painting the hearthstone around the fireplace was a liberal coating of blood. "Oh shit" Barry muttered when he got closer.

He bent down, examining the stain. "Jeez, somebody was hurt pretty bad here" he muttered. "I mean, this is a _lot_ of-Jill?"

He glanced up, suddenly aware that she wasn't listening to him. She was staring up at the walkway above the dining room, where a series of statues stood.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

Jill didn't stop looking up. "I-I thought…It felt like someone was watching us. From up there."

Barry nodded. "I know what you mean. This place gives me the creeps." He stood up. "What do you think? Does this qualify as something to tell Wesker about, or should we stay here and look around some more?"

Jill pointed to a door to their right. "There. I think I can see bloodstains. I'll go check it out."

"Okay" said Barry. "Do you want me to come with you?"

Jill shook her head. "No, I've got this."

Barry nodded. "Fair enough. If you need me, I'll be examining this. I just hope it's not…Never mind."

Barry knelt down beside the blood stains. He heard the door close when Jill left; then the room was still again, the only other sound coming from a large grandfather clock as it slowly ticked along.

Barry doubted five minutes had passed before the door opened again. He looked up to see Jill stagger back into the room, backing away as if she was afraid something was following her.

"Everything okay?" Barry asked. "You get spooked? That's not like you-"

"Barry, watch out!" Jill shouted, and Barry realized that something _had_ been following her.

It was a man, a very filthy, very smelly, very downright repulsive man. He was stumbling drunkenly forward, his neck at an odd angle, his head resting on his shoulder. His eyes had a glazed look in them, his mouth hung slackly open. His hands were stretched out, reaching for Jill. He looked like some sort of extra from a B horror film, and Barry might have found the man's whole appearance ludicrous…

Except.

Except Jill was obviously terrified by this man.

Except, there was blood on the man's hands and face. It didn't look fake. It looked like he had just had his mouth in a carcass.

Except, some part of Barry's mind was screaming at him that there was something _wrong_ about this guy. The worst human being Barry had ever seen was a serial killer he had helped apprehend. There was a certain kinship between the soulless eyes of that man and this individual. Something not quite…human.

Jill was still backing away when Barry pulled the Silver Serpent out of its holster. He quickly flicked out the cylinder, checking its load. Amazingly, he had managed to load one cartridge in the mad dash for the mansion. _Something to be said for repetition_ he thought. He slid in two more just to be safe, then flicked the cylinder back into position.

"Jill! Left!" he shouted, bringing the revolver up as he did so. He sighted in on the man's chest. Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger.

The massive .44 kicked in his hands, jerking up into the air despite Barry's efforts to control it. The report was loud, temporarily drowning out all sound.

The bullet struck the man just where Barry had aimed. He staggered back, a large hole in his chest. Strangely, there was no blood.

Barry's mind didn't have long to process that, though. Because the man had reacted to what ought to have been a mortal wound as if it were a punch in the arm, a slap in the face. He took a few seconds to recover his balance, then stumbled forward again.

Barry cycled the revolver, then fired a second time. He could disbelieve things later. Now he had more pressing matters.

This time, the man went down. He fell back, lying in a slowly spreading pool of his own blood. Barry and Jill walked forward cautiously, their weapons at the ready.

"What the hell _was_ that thing?" Barry asked softly. "This is an elephant gun, for crying out loud, and I hit it _twice_!"

"I don't know" said Jill. "I found it down the hallway, eating…someone. I couldn't tell who. But before I could get closer, it turned around and came after me."

"C'mon" said Barry, gesturing toward the door she had just come out of. "Let's go take a look see at whoever this guy killed."

Jill nodded. "Okay."

The hallway they found themselves in was dark, lit only by a few small lights, scattered and dim. They cast bizarre shadows everywhere, making it hard for Barry to see where he was going.

Jill stepped ahead of him, heading forward purposefully. She paused in front of one of the darker shadows.

"Oh God" she said, kneeling over the body concealed there. "Barry, look. It's Kenneth."

Barry knelt down beside her. Sure enough, there lay Bravo Team's point man. He laid stiff and cold, his eyes wide with surprise.

"How long do you think he's been here?" Jill asked.

Barry shrugged. "I dunno, but-" he pulled something out of the gaping wound in Kenneth's throat, "it looks like at least one of his other teammates was here with him." He showed Jill the STARS emblem.

"Bravo Team" she said, reading it off the patch. "I wonder who it was."

"One of the guys" said Barry. "This is too big to belong to the new kid, so it must have been Enrico, Forest, Richard, or Ed."

They both stood up. "That's two STARS accounted for" said Jill solemnly. "Kevin in the forest, and now Kenneth. That leaves us five more to find."

"Six" corrected Barry. "Don't forget the kid from SWAT."

Jill nodded. "Oh yeah. I forgot about him." She looked around. "We need to go find Captain Wesker, and tell him what we've seen."

"Okay. Lead on."

But when they went back into the dining room, Jill stopped.

"What is it?" Barry asked.

"I've just realized something" said Jill. "When I yelled and you shot that…thing, it was pretty loud. Earlier, we heard _someone_ shooting at something from the entryway. Odds are, Wesker could probably hear us in here earlier. So-"

"So why didn't he come in to see what the problem was?" Barry finished. "That's not all." He pointed to the puddle of blood. "There's the blood, but where's the body?"

"Shit" said Jill. "He just got up and _left_?"  
"Looks that way" said Barry. "Come on, let's go find Wesker."

They headed back into the entryway to find it just as they'd left it. In the intervening minutes, the wild dogs hadn't managed to break into the mansion. Barry faintly heard one howling in the distance, but that was the only sound.

Jill looked around. "Captain?" she called out. "Captain Wesker?"

Barry holstered the Silver Serpent, then cupped his hands over his mouth. "Wesker! Where are you?"

But there was no answer. _Great_ Barry thought. _First Bravo, then Chris, now Wesker. Everyone's disappearing._


	3. Unexpected Guests

Chapter 2: Unexpected Guests

(JILL)

"Wesker!" she shouted again, knowing it was useless. "Captain Wesker!"

"It's no use" said Barry, shaking his head. "I don't know what's got into him, but Wesker's long gone by now."

"Maybe he ran into another one of those things" said Jill. "Maybe he _had_ to leave." Even in her own ears, Jill thought she sounded like she was making excuses.

"Maybe" said Barry, not sounding convinced. He jiggled the doorknob. "Yeah, it's still secured. We won't have to worry about anything trying to get in…For awhile, anyway. I'd still feel better if we didn't have to," he muttered half to himself, "but we've got no other choice."

"What are you talking about?"

"We've gotta find Wesker and Chris, along with the other Bravos" Barry explained. "They're somewhere lost in this place. It's our job to track them down. Once we do that, we can figure out some way to signal Brad and then get out of here."

"Okay" said Jill. "I think we should-"

Barry shook his head. "No, it's better if we split up. That way we can cover twice the ground in half the time. You've got your lock pick, right?"

Jill nodded, holding up the small box her father had given her so many years before. With it, Jill could pick almost any lock. "Got it."

"Good" said Barry, reloading the Silver Serpent. "And I've got my personal door knocker right here. Between the two of us, there shouldn't be anywhere we can't get to." He waved his arms slowly, a gesture which encompassed not only the entry room but the entire building. "This mansion is…gigantic. We could run into trouble if we get lost."

"So…let's not get lost" Jill replied. "If anything happens, we should try to find our way back here. Sound fair?"

Barry nodded. "Sounds good."

Barry headed back into the dining room, while Jill elected to take the stairs in the middle of the entry room. The long, empty room on the other end of the double doors unnerved her. She couldn't forget the feeling of many eyes being on her as she made her way across the room. She hurried through the door, eager to be going somewhere other than toward those unseen eyes.

Instead, she found herself in a hallway chocked with the stench of death. Jill shook her head; the smell reminded her of Kenneth, as well as Joseph and Kevin. _All dead_ she thought. _All gone._

Jill remembered that Kenneth was in the middle of a rather messy divorce. _How awful_ she thought to herself. And the Bravo point man looked to have suffered in death; most likely he'd still been alive.

Joseph had still been alive when those dogs had set in on him. Jill shut her eyes tightly, trying to force away the mental image of her friend being devoured before her. _That _was a rough way to go out, too.

Then there was Kevin, eaten alive by something else. Jill hadn't seen his body. All she knew was that it had been so bad as to make Joseph puke his guts out, then keep doing it after there was nothing else to bring up.

Thinking about what had happened to the STARS no longer with them kept Jill from worrying about Edward. If all she thought about was the misery she knew about, she didn't have to contemplate what might have happened to her boyfriend.

Determinedly not thinking about Edward, Jill headed deeper into the Mansion, her footsteps creaking on rotten floorboards. _Great_ she thought. _On top of everything else, the floor might collapse. Outstanding._

(BARRY)

Barry stared at Kenneth for a long moment. Then, with a sigh, he holstered the Silver Serpent and bent down next to the body of his former comrade. He wasn't going to leave the dead STARS lying there like road kill. If he had to, he'd carry the man himself, but he wasn't going to be left behind.

Barry took hold of Kenneth's ankles and began to drag him into the dining room. Once there, he planned to take a break. Kenneth was heavy, and Barry wasn't built for standing hunched over and dragging things around.

Suddenly, he stopped and stood still, stiff, his ears straining for sound. After a moment of complete silence, he shrugged. "Hmph. Getting jumpy" he muttered to himself, reaching down for Kenneth.

Click.

Barry stiffened this time, not to see if he could discern a noise, but because he recognized it instantly. That was the sound of someone cocking a handgun….

"Nice and slow, Barry" said a familiar voice from behind him. Barry did as instructed, then turned around.

"Hello, Captain. I have to admit, this isn't exactly how I planned on meeting up with you again" he gestured to the gun in Wesker's hand. "Why don't you put that down, talk this over-"

Albert Wesker smiled coldly. "No, I don't think so." He gestured with the Samurai Edge. "Step over this way. Quickly now."

"What about-"

"_Move_." Wesker didn't raise his voice; instead, it got deadly quiet. Barry hesitated, then did as he was told.

"Good" said Wesker. "You devotion to our late comrade is admirable, but…misplaced. He cannot leave this building."

"What are you talking about?" Barry demanded. "I'm not just going to leave him here to rot-!"

"Shhhhh" said Wesker. "Just watch."

Barry grunted, then did as he was told.

At first, he didn't see anything of interest. Then, all at once, he did.

"My God" he muttered. "How is…How is that possible?"

"Intriguing, isn't it?"

Barry looked from the trembling form of Kenneth to Wesker, then back again. "He's…He's _moving_. How is that possible?"

"Kenneth Dewey is dead" Wesker said calmly. "His body has been infected with the Tyrant strain of the Progenitor Virus, a biological agent created by Umbrella Pharmaceutical."

"What are you talking about?" Barry demanded. "You mean, Kenneth's _not_ resurrected."

With the sunglasses on, Barry couldn't see for sure, but he suspected Wesker rolled his eyes. "Oh, come _on_ Barry. Use your head! Of course he's not coming back to life." He gestured toward the mangled form of the Bravo scout as it rose steadily to its feet. "All this thing is is pure animal instinct. A shell, albeit one which looks like your late friend." He leveled the Samurai Edge. Barry noticed that it was outfitted with a non-standard issue silencer.

"What are you doing?" he shouted.

Wesker looked at Barry over the glasses. "That _thing_ is an abomination. It's a killing machine. Any contact between its bodily fluids and anyone else's will result in them becoming one of the hungry dead as well. It's only impulse is to feed, and it will eat anything it comes across. Even old friends. It will attack and consume you if you let it." Without pausing, Wesker shot Kenneth in the head. "_Don't_ let it" he said, lowering the handgun as Kenneth crumpled to the floor. "The only way to stop the infected is by shooting them in the head. I don't know why, and honestly I don't care; it works, and that's the important part."

"How do you know so much about all this?" Barry asked. Wesker gave him another of his teacher-over-the-glasses looks. "Oh, you're not serious. You can't mean that _you're_ a-"

"A _what_, Barry? A traitor?" Wesker snorted. "I prefer to think of it as serving a higher cause. Surely _you_ can relate, Barry."

"You were…You were _working_ for Umbrella? _Umbrella?_ You mean to say that they're behind this?" Wesker nodded, encouraging Barry. "You mean to say that they've been doing…that they've been doing what? Secret weapons research here?"

"You catch on pretty quickly" Wesker said. "I _am_ impressed. At first, I thought I was also going to need Chris or Jill for this, but I suspect that you'll work just as well on you own."

"What are you talking about?"  
"Do I need to spell it out for you?" Wesker asked, shaking his head. "The Company screwed up here. Their secret viral experiments got out. _I'm_ the one they sent to clean up. And I need your help to make that happen."

"You want me to _help_ you cover this up? The deaths on Bravo team? Probably the forest killings, too." Barry snorted. "Fuck you."

"Ah, Barry" said Wesker, smiling coldly, "let's not be rash. After all, there's more at stake here than I think you realize."  
"What are you talking about?" Barry asked, suddenly unsure of his ground.

Wesker held up a small, black cellular phone. "Do you see this?" he asked. "_This_ is a link between myself and a team of Umbrella hired guns who just happen to be hiding out in your neighborhood. One word from me, and I believe that rather unfortunate things will happen to the Burton household-"

"You son of a bitch!" Barry snarled, lunging for Wesker, half drawing the Silver Serpent. "You filthy, stinking, _cowardly_ son of a bitch! You hurt them, you so much as fucking _touch_ them, and I'll-"

Wesker wagged a finger in the air. "Ah-ah-ah, I would suggest you moderate your approach." He slid the phone back into its pocket. "If that team doesn't hear from me every hour, then…Well, let's just say the Arklay killings will take a rather bizarre and disturbing turn."

Barry slid the revolver back into its holster. "Okay" he said after a moment, hanging his head. "Okay. I'll do it. Just…Just don't hurt my family."

"Barry, Barry, Barry" said Wesker casually. "Why didn't you just say so? None of this would have been necessary if you would have just been a good boy and done as your Captain instructed."

Barry looked up. "And what _does_ he 'instruct'?" he asked mockingly.

"Well," said Wesker, "I'll let you in on a little secret-"

(JILL)

Jill had wondered aimlessly down the hallway until she came to _another_ staircase, this one headed back down to the floor she'd left about fifteen minutes prior. After a moment's thought, she'd taken it, curious to see where it went.

It led to a long, wide hallway that seemed to stretch a courtyard. Large, ivy covered windows let her catch small glimpses of the world outside. There wasn't a whole lot to see.

When she heard something rustling around in the bushes outside, she drew her Samurai Edge and backed away from the window. "Great" she muttered. "_More_ dogs."

She headed down the hallway, keeping an eye on the far wall. Any sign of trouble, and she intended to get the hell out of Dodge.

She soon realized that the hallway did indeed enclose the courtyard; there was a branch to the right that she took. She could see dust rising from her footsteps, and guessed that no one had been down here for a while.

Except, for the other set of bootprints in the dust. Jill knelt down beside them, trying to get a look without sneezing and blowing them away. With a shake of her head, she stood back up. There wasn't really much of anything to be gleaned by examining the tracks.

Jill followed the prints down the hallway, until they came to a large cabinet. Upon closer examination, she found that it had left a trail in the dust. _Someone's moved this recently_ she realized. _I wonder what they were trying to hide_.

Jill set the handgun down on top of the cabinet, then leaned forward and began to push it back to its original position.

Lying on the floor, where it had been hidden from sight by the cabinet, was a small, red cardboard box. Jill picked it up.

TONY'S ARMS the box informed her. 9MM PARABELLUM.

"Okay" said Jill. "Not what I was expecting, _but_…" She slid open the box. Inside were thirty rounds of handgun ammunition. _Two full mags worth_ she realized. This would make another encounter with those dogs a little easier.

Jill set her handgun down, removed a spare magazine from her pocket, and began to slid rounds into it. She wished she had a stripper clip for the weapon; that would make it a _lot _faster. _But beggars can't be choosers._

Once the magazine she'd expended in the forest was reloaded, Jill ejected the one from her Samurai Edge and set about loading new bullets into it as well.

She'd only gotten in a couple when the window directly in front of her exploded, and a huge and slavering mutt leapt through it. Jill raised her hands to ward off the shards of glass…and dropped the handgun.

"Shit!" she exclaimed, just as the dog lunged for her.

The thing hit her in the gut, knocking her off her feet. Jill let out a groan as the dog landed on her midsection, driving the air from her lungs. It slavered and snapped at her head, but she reacted just in time to keep it from tearing out her throat.

With one hand, Jill kept the monster dog at bay. With the other, she jerked the long bladed STARS knife out of her boot and drove it deep into the dog's stomach, right between its ribs. She stabbed again and again, only to have the same result, or rather, lack thereof.

With a yell of frustration, Jill ripped the knife out of the dog, then plunged it into the animal's head. _That_ got its attention; with a whimper, it went limp and collapsed on top of her.

Jill pushed the dog off, then started to sit up…only to see a second dog standing not three feet away, staring at her.

"No way" she muttered. "No way my luck is that bad."

The dog growled low in its throat, stepping toward her. Jill could see the unholy light in its eyes, and the large patches on its body where its skin had been either worn or torn away. She vaguely remembered a song... _Dead I am the dog, hound of Hell you cry…_

Then Jill and the monster both leapt forward; Jill for her handgun, the dog for her throat.

Jill snatched up the Samurai Edge, rolled up into a kneeling position, and saw the dog's jaws open wide to a huge bite out of her face…

BLAM BLAM BLAM!

The dog jerked in midair, the force of the gunshots sending it into the wall. It struck forcefully, then tried to rise to its feet. A fourth shot hit it in the head and splashed its brains across the wall. It collapsed and did not get up again.

Jill looked over, to see a young man standing in an open doorway, a handgun clutched in his trembling hands. Warily, she stood up.

"Thanks for the save-"

"Did it bite you?" the stranger asked, the handgun darting toward her.

Jill shook her head, confused. "No. What are you-"

"Why is there blood on you?" he demanded. The gun was trembling slightly, like he was having trouble keeping it at the ready.

Jill looked down. Her uniform was soaked in dark, viscous liquid. She looked less like a cop and more like an incompetent mechanic, covered in motor oil…"It's not mine" she said. "I had to knife the dog, and it bled on me." She held up the darkened blade. "Here. Satisfied?"

The kid nodded. "Yeah. I believe you." He let out a sigh of relief, and lowered the gun. "For a minute, I thought I was gonna have to shoot you."

Jill blinked. "Shoot me? What are you talking abo-…Hang on, I know you! You're the SWAT officer."

The kid started. "You know who I am? Then you must be with Alpha Team."

Jill nodded. "That's right. Jill Valentine, STARS. We've come to get you out of here."

"Mat Dawson, RPD SWAT" he replied. "I appreciate the effort, but that'll be a little more difficult than you think" the SWAT kid said. "You see, there's these…things in the forest."

"I know" said Jill. "We ran into them earlier." She shivered. "They…killed Joseph Frost near your helicopter crash. WE also found Kevin and Kenneth."

Mat let out a sigh. "I knew Kevin was dead, but I hadn't heard about Kenneth." He shook his head. "That's at least four members of Bravo down."

"_Four_?" Jill asked. "Four of you died?"

Mat nodded. "Yeah. With Kenneth down, he's the most recent. Then there's Kevin; I found him being eaten alive. Then Forest. I-I don't know what went wrong with him, but he went wild and I had to shoot him." He patted a slick, dark red stained bandage on his arm. "I wasn't the first on the draw, but it looks like I'm a better shot."

_Poor Chris_ Jill thought, remembering how the two of them had often gone target shooting, taking Joseph along a time or two. "But that's only three. Who was the fourth?"

Now Mat looked decidedly uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, but I have some bad news." Jill felt a ball of ice forming in her stomach, but didn't stop him. "Edward and I…we were attacked by this…man. I'm still not certain who or what he was, but he was somehow controlling those things out in the forest. If you think the dogs are bad, then you've gotten lucky. There are things out there even _worse_ than those." He shook his head. "But, this guy, James, ambushed us. He tried to kill us. Edward was hurt, but I managed to pull him to safety. I got him to a train we found sitting in the forest, but we were surrounded by those damned dogs. I managed to get him onboard, but I couldn't stop the dogs from going after him…I'm sorry" he added, when he saw Jill's face. "He…he was a good man. He saved my life."

"Where is he?" Jill asked. "I-I want to see him."

Mat shook his head. "No, Jill. No, you don't." He seemed like he was having a hard time picking his words. "There's…there's something you need to know. Those things, out there, are infected. Some sort of virus, I'm not entirely sure exactly, and I'm too tired to be sure I remember what I _do_ know correctly. But one bite is all it takes to infect you. And when that happens, you'll die." He got a far off look on his face, like he was remembering something he'd rather have left forgotten. "Some people take longer than others, but you _will_ die. Always. And, within an hour or two, you'll be back on your feet…and hungry."

"And…that happened to Edward?"

Mat nodded. "Yeah. I'm sorry. Like I said, he saved my life."

"Is there any way to put him back to rest?" Jill asked. "If there is, I'll do it."

Mat shook his head. "It's too late for that, I'm afraid. Rebecca already took care of it." He looked Jill in the eye. "He tried to kill her, Jill. He tried to _eat_ my best friend. She had no choice."

"How did she do it?" Jill asked.

Mat pointed to the dog. "One round, straight through the head. It's the only way to make _sure_ they stay dead. Unless you hit them there, there's no guarantee they won't get back up. And if _that_ happens, they're even more dangerous."

Suddenly, there was a loud shriek from outside. Mat's eyes went wide.

"Dammit, she found us." He turned to Jill. "C'mon, it's not safe here. We need to move, right now!"

"What are you talking about? Move where?"

"There's no time!" Mat shouted. "Just follow me; I know what I'm doing."

Without waiting for a reply, he started off down the hallway, one hand clamped over his shooting arm. After a moment's hesitation, Jill followed him.


	4. Hide and Seek

Chapter 3

Hide and Seek

(JILL)

"This way!" Mat shouted, waving Jill past him. She ran left, in the direction he pointed…into a dead end.

"There's nothing here-" she started to say, but mat shoved her forward.

"Quick, through this door!" he shouted, jerking one open. Jill hurried inside, to find herself in a small closet. It was lined with wall shelves holding all manner of things. On a table in one corner of the room was an old typewriter, next to a large chest. A second later, Mat was behind her, and had pulled the door closed.

"What's going on?" Jill asked. "What's come after us?"

Mat just shook his head. "Quiet down" he whispered. "If we're careful, she won't hear us."

"_What_ won't hear us?" Jill persisted, but Mat just raised a finger to his lips.

A second later, Jill heard slow, shuffling footsteps outside. Something was walking down the hall they had just left. Something big.

Suddenly, there was a howl of frustration, followed by a loud smashing noise. Then silence outside.

Mat waited about three minutes, then cautiously opened the door. The hallway was deserted.

Jill followed as he carefully stepped out of the closet, then headed down to the end of the hall. After making sure the coast was clear, he motioned for her to move up.

"It looks like she decided to take a shortcut back down" he muttered, pointing to a large hole in the wall. Through it Jill could see the courtyard below, still mostly swallowed by the night.

"What was that thing?" she asked.

Mat shook his head. "I have no idea. Some sort of guard dog maybe? Or an experiment that got loose? Whatever it is, it's very durable. The thing is all but impervious to bullets, even from my P90" he explained, touching the butt stock of the SMG slung over his shoulder. "When we ran into it earlier, it tried to kill me and Captain Enrico. We had to run away before it could beat us to death. I'd suggest you do the same if you run into it." He holstered his handgun, one of the RPD Browning Hi-Powers, then unslung the P90. "Well, I guess I'll be on my way."

"What?" Jill asked. "What do you mean?"  
"You've got things under control here" he replied. "I have…I have a promise to keep."

"What are you talking about?"

"I promised Captain Enrico that I'd track down the rest of the STARS and make sure they're all right. Forest, Edward, Kevin, and Kenneth are dead. That leaves Richard and Rebecca. I have to find them, before it's too late. I'm especially worried about Rebecca. This is-_was_ her first assignment. She's probably scared." He shook his head. "It's my fault she's out here. _I_ told her about STARS. I'm the one who pointed her out to Captain Wesker. I gave him my recommendation. If it wasn't for me, she wouldn't be out here."

Jill shook her head. "No, it's not your fault. And it doesn't matter. Because we're gonna find them."

"But-"

"No" said Jill. "Alpha team is here to rescue you guys, remember. It's our job to make sure that you four survivors make it out of here safely. So, why not work together and try to find out what exactly is going on around here?"

"Okay" said Mat. "But…there's something you need to know. It's about everything that's been happening. I know what's going on…_and_ who's responsible."

Jill blinked. _How does he know?_ she asked herself. _And why is he so nervous about it?_ "Let's hear it."

"Okay" said Mat. "But it's a long story, and trust me, you're not gonna believe it all."

(BARRY)

Barry had never been a fan of Queen. He didn't approve of the lifestyle Freddie Mercury lived, and it just wasn't the sort of music he listened.

All the same, the words to "Another One Bites the Dust" kept circling irreverently around inside his head as he stared down at the horribly mutilated body of Forest Speyer.

"Jesus, Forest, what did this to you?" he muttered. It looked as if about a million and four tiny hammers had been taken to the Bravo demolitions expert's body. It wasn't pretty.

A few feet away, lying on a bench, was Forest's Milkor grenade launcher. Barry stepped toward it, cracking open the cylinder. The weapon was fully loaded, and there was a satchel nearby with more grenades inside. Barry took that and slung it over his shoulder, then hefted the launcher. There was no sense in leaving it behind.

Thus loaded down, Barry headed back toward the entry hall. He didn't see what was left of Forest as it began to stir…

A few minutes later…

Jill hadn't come back to the first floor in the time since he had last seen her, so Barry assumed that she hadn't run into any trouble. He tried not to think about the only other obvious conclusion, the one in which Jill hadn't come back downstairs because she _couldn't_.

Barry decided to finish checking the first floor before he went looking for her, in any case. He had just noticed a door at the far end of the room, and headed for it.

"Shit!" Barry exclaimed when he opened the door and found someone staring back at him from inside. It took him only a few seconds to realize his error.

The room was some sort of store room, crammed with furniture partially covered by dust cloths. Lining the far wall was an enormous floor-to-ceiling mirror. Barry could see his expression there, breathing heavily with the Silver Serpent half out of its holster. There was nothing else inside.

"Well, Barry, if you're done giving yourself heart attacks, why don't you turn around" said Wesker from behind him. Barry did so, spinning around without completely taking his hand off the butt of his revolver.

Wesker clucked softly. "Barry, Barry, Barry. Haven't we gotten past this?" He gestured off-handedly with his already drawn Samurai Edge.

_Damn, he's got the drop on me again_ Barry thought irritably. "What do you want, Wesker?"

"That's better" said Wesker sarcastically. "I've got a little something for you and Jill to try and track down." He pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and tossed it to Barry.

Barry unfolded the sheet, then looked at the images printed on it. "What is this, your high-school yearbook?" he asked, pointing to one of the rather garish masks on the paper. "I bet I can guess which one's you."

Wesker's face didn't change. "Those masks are the keys to unlocking the Trevor Mausoleum in the cemetery out back."

"There's a cemetery in the back?" Barry asked. "Good God, this place is one giant cliché!"

"Be that as it may, I need you and Jill to find these masks and use them to open up the Mausoleum. Once that's done, you'll find the keys to the Servant's Residence behind the main building."  
"And why are we doing that?" Barry asked.

"Because inside the Residence are the keys to the laboratory in the bottom floors of this mansion" replied Wesker. "Inside that lab are some rather compromising documents. I need access to it so I can destroy those documents. And you're going to do my legwork for me, Barry."

"Fair enough" said Barry. "And after I find get you into the lab, you'll call your goons off my family, right?"

Wesker smiled, coldly. "But of course, Barry. Don't you trust me?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Now that you mention it," said Wesker, "no." He thought for a moment, then added "I wouldn't tell Jill about our little arrangement, either. Just let her keep thinking I've gone AWOL. Otherwise, there might be some rather unfortunate consequences for her, in addition to your own better half."

"Okay, Wesker, I'll do your dirty work" said Barry. "But as soon as we're done here, you had better watch your back. Because I swear I'm going to kill you."

Wesker smiled his same cold smile. "You can try. But you may find that I'm a harder man to kill than you may think."

With that, he turned on his heel and made his way back up the stairs. After a moment, Barry followed.

_Better find Jill and get this over with_ he thought, trying to figure out how to explain his possession of the mask paper without seeming suspicious.

End of Part I


	5. From Another Perspective

Part II:

Chris

Chapter 4

From Another Perspective

(CHRIS)

Chris Redfield ran, his feet kicking aside dead leaves and snapping fallen limbs. He knew he was making a lot of noise, but didn't really care. The dogs knew he was here, after all, so there was nothing for it but to run as fast as possible.

He stopped, pivoted, and brought up his Samurai Edge to eye level. He took a deep breath, then squeezed the trigger. The 9mm kicked once, the bullet leaving the barrel and taking the closest dog in the flank. It staggered and went down, then began to thrash as it tried to get back up. Chris didn't stay to watch. As soon as he'd fired, he turned and ran again.

He'd repeated the maneuver at least three times now, ever since the dogs had ambushed the STARS team, after they had eaten poor Joseph alive. After Brad had flown off and left them behind. Chris swore that he'd survive this, just so that he could find the pilot and kill him. There was no excuse for that sort of shit.

But first…

Up ahead, Chris could see a huge dark shape. Since the only alternative was to keep running through the forest, he angled toward it. With luck it was someplace he could go hide and wait for the dogs to get bored and leave. Then he could go look for the other Alphas, scattered somewhere in the darkened trees.

Chris didn't have any trouble jumping over the chest high wrought-iron fence, which meant the dogs wouldn't either. He jogged forward a few steps, turned around, and knelt down. He wished he'd brought a pair of kneepads. Otherwise, his knees would get sore if he held this position too long. _No point worrying about it now_ he decided.

A dog ran out of the trees and leapt over the fence. Chris shot it before it had touched down on the other side.

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! Click.

The dog let out a _yipe_ of surprise as the bullets tore into its body. It tumbled to the ground and lay still.

The slide locked back on Chris's Samurai Edge. Apparently he had shot at the dogs more often than he thought he had. A lot more.

"No problem" he muttered, ejecting the spent magazine while reaching for a new one with his left hand. He had some trouble finding the ammo pouch he kept hitched to his belt, and it took him a moment to realize what had happened. At some point during his flight the pouch must have either been shaken loose or gotten caught on something. The how didn't matter, since the end result was that Chris had no backup ammo. Frantically he felt around for the empty magazine. If he could find loose ammunition, he could recharge it and still use the Samurai Edge. Otherwise it was completely useless.

As soon as his fingers closed around the magazine, Chris stood up, stuffing it in a pocket as he did so. Then he ran toward the dark shape, which was slowly resolving itself into a huge mansion. Behind him, he could hear the barking of the dogs as they caught up with him.

Some of them already had.

The only warning Chris got was a slight clicking on the worn stone path he ran along. The noise brought him up short, making him pause. No sooner had he started moving than a dog leapt around the corner, directly in front of him. Had Chris kept running, the dog would have leapt on _him_.

All the same, he had no ammo to fight the thing with.

The dog bent low, raising its hindquarters into the air as it prepared to spring, growling deeply in its throat. Chris reacted without thinking, reaching up to his left pectoral and unsheathing the combat knife there. With a flick of his wrist he threw the blade.

The dog let out a yelp of pain and collapsed, the knife quavering in its eye socket. Christ bent down and retrieved the weapon, paused a moment to wipe it clean on the dog's black hide, then hurried forward. Behind him, the braying of the dogs grew louder.

A few minutes later…

_The lights are on, but nobody's home._

That was how it looked to Chris, anyway. Further, it didn't look like anyone had been inside the mansion in some time. A thin layer of dust coated everything: the floor, the walls, the few cabinets that sat at odd intervals down the hallway, and the pictures hanging on the walls. Chris expected to turn a corner and find a dust bunny waiting for him.

He never found a dust rodent waiting for him. In fact, Chris didn't find anything at all to suggest that there was anyone inside the mansion. But he kept searching. At the very least, there might be a phone for him to call the RPD and have them send out backup. _And with both STARS teams out here, that'll probably mean SWAT_ Chris though darkly. _Another meeting with Captain Welles. I can't wait._

Then he stopped, backed up, and looked down. His boots were leaving prints in the dust. Not large ones, but definitely visible. And, upon closer examination, they weren't the only ones. Another set of prints went down the hallway. Since he didn't have anything better to do, Chris decided to follow them.

The footprints led Chris down the hall, around the corner, and through a door at the far end. The door was ajar, and Chris could see that the prints left and continued on, but he still wanted to see what the mysterious person he was following had stopped for.

Chris eased into the room, careful not to disturb the footprints. Then he looked around.

It looked like somebody's bedroom. There was a small bed in one corner, the sheets militarily precise, opposite a closet. Next to the bed was a desk, with a reading lamp built in. The lamp was turned on and Chris could see an open book sitting on top. He made his way forward, bending low over the desk to read in the dim light.

It was a diary, presumably the diary of the man who had slept here. It was open to an entry on May 9th, something about a poker game and some guy named Steve, who the author thought was a cheating scumbag. Chris snorted and turned the page.

The next entry was from May 10th. It talked about an experiment the author had been tasked with feeding, some sort of bizarre gorilla with no fur. According to the diary, when fed a pig, the gorilla had torn it apart and played with the body before actually eating.

Chris hurried to the next entry. It was from the next day, and talked about some sort of biohazard and protective suits. Chris cast a worried look around, as if he could see whatever microbes had so worried the author. The rational part of him knew that was pointless. After all, he'd already been inside for about fifteen minutes. If he was going to get sick, it was already too late to worry. So he read on.

On May 12th, the author was still wearing his biohazard suit, and was starting to feel itchy. He mentioned some dogs he was supposed to feed, but didn't because they gave him funny looks. By May 13th his back was so painful and he had developed a fever, so he visited the infirmary, only to be told he didn't need to wear the suit anymore.

Suppressing the willies, Chris kept reading.

On May 14th the author had blisters on his feet, making it difficult to walk. He went to feed the dogs and…Chris reread the diary entry twice, but knew he wasn't mistaken. Some of the dogs had escaped. _And then decided to start _eating_ people _he thought.

May 15th's entry explained how the mansion's phones had been ripped out (_so much for that plan_ Chris thought), and how the guards wouldn't let anyone leave. Chris was starting to put two and two together, and he wasn't sure he liked the way three was looking.

May 16th's entry contained a rumor about a researcher who'd been shot while trying to escape. Whatever had gotten out, it wasn't something these people, whoever they were, were willing to mess around with.

The next few pages were blank. Chris kept flipping, until he found a pair of short entries on a single page.

**MAY 19****th****: Fever broke, but itchy. Hungry…eat doggie food. Itchy itchy Scott came ugly face so killed him. Tasty.**

**JUNE 4****th****: itchy~tasty**

There was nothing more.

Chris stared down at the journal for a moment, his mind racing. _What the fuck is going on here?_ he wondered.

There was a creak from behind him. Chris whirled around to see the closet door, which had been closed up til now, had swung open. And something was shuffling toward him.

Chris tilted the lamp on the desk up, so that the light shined on the man. He recoiled in horror.

The man was deathly pale, his skin completely white. His mouth was wide open, his teeth stained dark. He stretched one blood coated hand toward Chris, the other hanging from a dislocated arm. He shuffled along, as if his feet didn't quite want to lift.

"Stand back!" barked Chris, drawing his Samurai Edge and aiming at the man's chest. If this was the man who had written the diary, then he had quite possibly killed and…_eaten_ someone else.

If he even heard Chris, the man didn't show it. He just kept coming forward.

Chris wasn't feeling particularly charitable, so he pulled the trigger…then stared stupidly at the locked slide of the Samurai Edge.

"Shit" he muttered, then flipped the handgun over and hurled it at the man. The empty weapon bounced off his face, breaking his nose, but didn't cause him to slow down.

Chris reached out, grabbing the man by the shoulders, reflexively avoiding a nasty looking wound on the man's dislocated arm. The stranger opened his mouth wide, arching his head back to bite at Chris, who shoved him back toward the closet in revulsion. The man tried to regain his momentum, but Chris acted first, pulling his combat knife out of its sheath and driving it into the man's throat. He let out a gurgled moan, his mouth working frantically.

Chris shoved him to the ground, pulling the knife out of the still twitching body and wiping it clean on the man's shirt before replacing it in its sheath. Then he stepped over the body, toward the closet.

The smell hit him first. It was like a slaughterhouse…_or a closet that's had a dead body in it for over a month in the summer_ Chris realized. That meant the man he'd just knifed was Scott, which meant the man who had written the diary was still wondering around somewhere else.

Except, the author of the diary seemed to think he had killed Scott, and eaten him. In which case…

Chris turned to see the man back on his feet, despite the gaping hole in his throat. Chris pulled out the knife again, and slashed at the man's forehead, breaking the skin at his scalp line and releasing a fine brownish powder. He didn't bleed. _Which means he can't be still alive_ Chris thought. _Which means he can't be standing here in front of you, either._

Since Scott still was, Chris slashed again, deeper into the man's head. But the man lunged forward at the same time, and his knife became lodged in the skull. Chris sidestepped, using Scott's momentum to remove the blade. The man collapsed to the floor, and did not stir again. Chris gave the room one last look, then hurried away, not glancing back over his shoulder.


	6. The Library

Chapter 5

The Library

(CHRIS)

When he heard voices coming from up ahead, Chris's first thought was that he was going crazy. He'd only been in the mansion for at most half an hour, and he didn't want to believe that he was _that_ lonely.

But no, there were definite voices ahead. One was loud and pitched rather high, so Chris guessed it was a woman. The other was lower and weaker, as if the speaker was injured.

"How long have you two been seeing each other?" the woman's voice asked.

"'Bout three months, give or take" the other replied.

"What's her name?"

"R-Rachel."

"Just hold on. You'll get to see Rachel again. I promise."

He rounded a corner, and found light in the room at the far end. The voices were coming from the other side of a partially opened door. Chris began to make his way forward, only to hear the sound of glass crunching beneath his boot. He looked down and saw that he had stepped on a picture frame, which had apparently fallen off the wall. Taking a cautious step forward, Chris managed to avoid making the same mistake a second time. He didn't know who these people were, so there was no reason to announce his approach. For all he knew, they could be some of the mad scientists who had lived here.

Trying to navigate the virtual minefield of broken picture frames, it took Chris a minute to realize that the talking in the room had stopped. _Oh boy_ he thought. _Now what?_

His answer came in the form of a shotgun being cocked behind him. "Only warning" said the woman's voice. "If you're alive, say something. Otherwise, I blow your head off."

"What?" Chris asked, starting to turn around.

"Don't move!" the woman (_girl_ Chris realized; judging by her voice she wasn't any older than his little sister). "Hands where I can see them!"

"Calm down" he said, trying to sound soothing. "It's okay, I'm with the police. I can help you and your friend, but only if you let me."

"Police?" the girl asked. "Funny. Buddy, we _are_ the police. You'll have to do better than _that_."

"Police?" Chris repeated.

"Mhm" the girl replied.

"STARS?"

There was an audible pause from behind him. "That's right" she said after a moment.  
"Bravo team? Your chopper went down in the forest last night?" Chris thought for a moment. "And you're the rookie. What was your name? Uhhh…Rena, Rita…?"

"_Rebecca_" she said. "How do you know that?"

"Rebecca! I knew it started with an _R_. I'm Chris Redfield. From Alpha team. I don't think we've met before, that's why you don't recognize me. But I remember reading your file. Brilliant scientist, right? College degree by age 18?"

"Right again, Chris Redfield, if that _is_ your real name" said Rebecca, slowly walking around to face him. "But that doesn't prove anything. You could be from the Company, sent to make sure Richard and I don't make it out here alive. After all we've seen in the last day, we're too dangerous to you people."

"Company? Wha-?" Then it dawned on Chris. "Richard! You said Richard's here? He knows me. Let's go talk to him. He'll verify my story."

Rebecca thought about it for a moment, rocking the Benelli shotgun in her palms. The weapon looked absurdly big in her small hands. "Okay" she said. "But I want your gun."

"Take it" said Chris, plucking the weapon out of its holster. "It's empty anyway." He unsheathed his knife. "Want this too?"

Rebecca took the Samurai Edge, then shook her head. "Stick it in the wall."  
Chris did as he was told, then let Rebecca march him down the hallway. He was willing to put up with the girl's eccentricities for the moment, though he was a little worried. She was obviously suffering from severe paranoia and possible Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. And she had a high powered shotgun aimed at his back from just far enough away to rip him in half if she pulled the trigger. _Wonderful_.

Chris stepped into the room, taking it in at a glance. It was a library, packed full of floor to ceiling shelves crammed with old and dusty looking books. On the far wall was a large, red and white polygon that Chris was sure he had seen somewhere before. And leaning up against the wall below it was…

"Richard!" he exclaimed, rushing forward. "Richard, can you hear me?"

"Yeah, I hear ya" replied the Bravo irritably. "I'm snake-bit, I'm not deaf."

"You're what?"

"I got gouged by a snake the size of a small house trailer" he answered. "So, Alpha team finally made it? 'Bout time you guys showed up, I say. Where's the rest of your team?"

Chris made a face. "I-I don't know. We were attacked by these wild dogs in the forest. They killed Joseph and we got separated."

"Joe's dead?" Richard asked. He shook his head. "_Damn_. And I take it that we won't have an easy time getting back to your chopper with all those dogs out there, will we?"

Chris shook his head. "It wouldn't matter. As soon as Joseph went down, Brad panicked and took off. I have no idea where he went. We're on our own until he decides to grow a pair."

"_Greaaat_" said Richard sarcastically. "And what's the bad news?"

"Well, I've found you and Rebecca here" said Chris, gesturing to where the rookie stood, no longer _quite_ aiming the shotgun at his back. "We found Kevin in the helicopter, so that's three STARS accounted for."

"Kevin?" Richard asked, then paused. "He's dead, isn't he?"

"Yeah. It looked like something was eating him. I suspect the forest cannibals were involved, although everything happened so quickly after we found your bird that I didn't put much thought into it."

"It must've been the MPs from the Jeep you found" said Richard to Rebecca. "They were the only people in the area, right?"

She nodded.

"Wait, what?" Chris asked. "You think a couple of military police attacked, murdered, and partially _ate_ a police officer?"

"Wouldn't be the strangest thing I've seen today" said Richard. "Like I said, earlier there was a snake bigger than my car that came after us. Before that there were those crows, and the zombies before _that_-"

"Zombies?" Chris looked between Richard and Rebecca. Was it possible for them _both_ to have cracked?

"Yeah" said Richard. "This place, best we can figure, was some sort secret lab or some such thing. These guys," he patted the emblem above his head, "were conducting some sort of FUBAR bio-weapons experiments. Some of the subjects must've gotten loose, and _bam! _We're in a Romero flick." He squinted at Chris for a minute. "You're taking this rather well, all things considered."

"I found a diary in one of the rooms. It belonged to one of the workers. He was…sick. And I think he killed somebody and hid him in a closet." Chris shook his head. "Then _that_ guy got up and attacked me. I stabbed him in the jugular, and he didn't _die_."

"He only went down when you got him in the head, didn't he?" Richard asked. Chris nodded. "That's how they work" Richard continued. "We don't know how, and we don't know why, but these people have some sort of disease or virus that brings them back from the dead, then turns them into walking eating machines. They transmit the infection, best we can figure, through bodily fluid mixing. You get infected, and you'll come back within-" He looked over at Rebecca.

"Edward was done and back up again in about half an hour" she said, then went back to staring at Chris with the same fixed expression.

"Edward? Edward was a…_zombie_?" Chris asked.

Rebecca nodded. "Yes. He was attacked by the dogs, the same ones I assume that you said killed Joseph in the forest. He and Mat were attacked, and had to split up. Most of the dogs followed Edward, and attacked me when I found him." Her voice broke for a moment, and she went on in little more than a whisper. "Edward died right in front of me. And then he just…got back up. I came back through the area I left him in to find him eating a dead body. When he heard me, he turned around and tried to kill _me_. It was like he didn't even know who I was."

"That's how it works" Richard said. "Me, Captain Enrico, and Forest explored a wrecked train that was full of those things. Some of them were missing limbs or had been crushed. A couple were on _fire_. But they all got up and came for us all the same." He paused. "The one that you ran into, did it bite you?"

Chris shook his head. "No. He tried, but he didn't succeed. I managed to knife him in the face first."

"That's good" said Rebecca. "Because as far as I've seen, if you get infected, you die. There's nothing to do about it, except give yourself a preemptive bullet to the brain." She handed Chris the Samurai Edge back. "These things work pretty well. I had an MP5 earlier, but I left it back in the woods I didn't expect to run into more zombies. But Richard and I found each other, and then the giant snake found _us-_"

"What's this giant snake you two keep mentioning?" Chris asked.

"It's a giant mothereffing snake" Richard said. "Huge, with a hood like a cobra's and hypnotic eyes. I don't suggest looking into them. It'll probably be the last thing you ever see."

"It was probably a bioweapon that got loose" said Rebecca. "We-_I_ saw similar things before I got here. They tend to be more durable than the regular zombies and the dogs, but you can still kill most of them the same way."

"And how's that?"

"Same as with the zombies" said Rebecca. She placed her index and middle finger to her temple. "A bullet in the head." She tossed Chris a Beretta magazine. "Take this. It'll make it easier to take these things down if you have a gun. Sorry I can't give you more, but ammo's rather scarce in these parts."

"Thanks" said Chris, reloading his handgun. "So, now what?"

"Well," said Rebecca, "it's actually fortunate that I found you. Richard is infected with a poison from the snake. I need to get an antidote in him soon. We passed an infirmary earlier, but I can't leave him here alone. That's where you come in. While I go on a medicine run, you can stay here and make sure the snake doesn't come back. I'll even let you keep the shotgun."

"No" said Chris. "If what you've said is true, then it's too dangerous for you to go out there alone. _I'll_ go. I've got more experience, and I'm not as tired as you."

"That won't work either" said Rebecca. "No offense, but you wouldn't know what to grab."

"Well, now that's not necessarily-"

"Do you know how to find hydrogen dioxide? How about sodium chloride?" Chris shook his head. "Then how are you supposed to know what to get if you can't even find water and salt? Trust me: it'll be better if I go. Because in this area, I have more experience than you. Sir."

"Hold on a minute-" Chris began. His thought was prematurely interrupted by the huge mass that forced its way through the wall with an angry hiss.

End of Part II


	7. Traps and Suspicions

Part III:  
The Night

Chapter 6: Traps and Suspicions

(JILL)

Jill and Mat faced a long, dark hallway. Both had their weapons up and ready, trained down into the unknown.

"We're gonna have to split up" said Jill, pulling her flashlight off her belt. She clicked it on and shined it down the hallway, illuminating a long stretch of symmetrical doors. "That'll let us get this done faster."

"Yeah, and make it twice as dangerous" replied Mat. "Honestly, have you ever _seen_ a horror movie?"

"Got any better ideas?" When Mat didn't say anything, she added "I didn't think so." She stepped down the hallway. "Yell if you see anything."

Jill took the first door on her left. It led her into an old bathroom. She looked around, her nose wrinkled in disgust.

Everything was covered in mold. It was very moist inside the room, probably because somebody had apparently run a bath, then forgotten about it. The tub had overflowed, saturated the carpet with muddy looking brown water. The only reason the tub wasn't still running was because the water to the mansion had apparently been shut off.

"What a magnificent smell you've discovered" she muttered to herself.

Jill decided to pull the plug on the tub. It might make things smell better inside the bathroom, and there was the off chance that there was something of value inside. Mat had said that Umbrella liked to hide important things in ridiculous places.

Jill shook her head. Even with everything she'd seen, she had a hard time believing what the younger man had said. Sure, Umbrella was probably a little dirty. Most big companies were. But to claim that the pharmaceutical giant was conducting _biological weapons_ experiments was just too much.

The gurgling from the tub changed pitch. Jill leaned over the edge, expecting to see that it was almost empty. Instead, she saw something _move_ inside. Jill let out a gasp and stepped backwards as a man sat up inside the tub. With a moan, he turned his brown and rotten face in her direction.

Her mind raced. There was no _way_ this guy was still alive. He'd been underwater for at least five minutes, assuming he had scrambled into the tub just before Jill entered the bathroom. Further, he was decaying. One of his eyes had actually ruptured and oozed down the side of his face like a boiled egg.

The man didn't seem particularly concerned about his supposed death. He leaned forward, flipping over the side of the tub and landing with a wet thump on the soaked floor. He crawled toward her on ruined and broken arms, his fingers stretched out for her legs.

Jill stepped back, into the counter as the man crawled toward her. He grabbed hold of her ankle, trying to pull himself up her leg, his mouth wide open to take a bite.

"Ugh!" Jill exclaimed as she brought her foot down on his skull, feeling it crack under her boot like an egg. Instantly the man's grip went slack and he collapsed onto the floor.

Jill stood there, staring at the body for a few seconds. Then she dashed toward the toilet, and relieved herself of her dinner and most of her lunch.

She heard footsteps behind her and spun around, wiping her mouth while simultaneously raising the Samurai Edge.

"Whoa, chill out" said Mat, raising a hand. "It's just me."

"What is it?" Jill snapped, a little embarrassed and trying to hide it as she stood up.

"I heard you doing…whatever it is you're doing in here, and wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm _fine_" Jill said firmly. "This room was a dead end. There's nothing here."

"Sure about that?" Mat asked. He was looking down into the bathtub.  
"What do you see?" Jill asked, walking toward him.

"This" he replied, after reaching down and plucking something out of the tub. He handed it to her.

"A key?" Jill asked. "What's it for?" She turned it over in her hands, feeling the engraving on the grip. It was some sort of device, like a crest.

"I have no idea" Mat replied. "But I'd imagine it's something useful, since this guy here died trying to hide it." He pointed at the zombie she'd stomped. "He must've succumbed to the virus after ditching it." He shook his head. "I wonder who he was. Did he like what Umbrella was doing here? Was he trying to cover for them? Or was he just a man, doing his job? Did he want us to find the key?" He shrugged, embarrassed. "Sorry. I am really, _really_ tired."

"C'mon, then" said Jill, gesturing toward the door. "Let's go."

A Few Minutes Later…

The key, it turned out, fit a lock back on the first floor. Inside, they found an empty room, with one door at the far end. Jill was more than a little disappointed. They hadn't seen anyone on their journey to this new room, and while she was glad to avoid more of the living dead, she had hoped to see Barry. He needed to know what was going on; otherwise, he was in grave danger.

"Not that _we_ aren't" Jill muttered.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Mat asked.

Jill coughed nervously. _Caught talking to yourself. Brilliant._ "I, erm, said 'We should see what's back that way.'"

Mat gave her a funny look. "_Oh_kay then." He unslung his P90. "You open the door. I'll go in first. Sound fair?"

Jill shrugged. "Works for me."

They edged closer to the door. Jill leaned up against the wall next to it, stretching out one hand to swing the door open, the other keeping the Samurai Edge up and ready. Mat stood back about a foot away, his P90 trained down. Jill sent him a look. He aimed the submachine gun ahead, then nodded.

He burst into the room the second the door swung open, swinging the P90 in a full 180 degree arc around the door. "Clear!" he said, moving forward so Jill could follow him. "What do you make of this place?"

Jill took a look around. It looked like some kind of trophy room. In one corner she could see a large bear, probably one of the local Arklay Grizzlies. In another was a big moose. Other animals included what looked like four different species of shark and a large walrus.

"I guess someone likes to hunt" Jill muttered, taking the various pelts in. All of a sudden, she remembered a short story she'd read in high school. Something about a half-mad Russian hunter living on a deserted island where he stalked a more deadly prey…other people. "'The Most Dangerous Game'!" she exclaimed.

Mat sent her another confused look. Then, understanding dawned on him. "Oh, yeah! That one! I remember that one! We read it in English when I was a freshman." He shook his head. "Funny, I was just thinking the same thing. There is definitely something odd about all this. But look!" he said, pointing to a far wall. "_That _might come in handy."

Jill followed his finger, then nodded. "You know," she said, matching his understatement, "I think you might be onto something."

They hurried over to the gun rack. Hanging on the wall was a single shoulder arm, an old hunting gun. Below it was a plaque, which read simply MEDICINE GUN.

"Very nice" said Mat, pointing to the stock. "This is pretty cool. Back in the old days, it looks like they actually wanted their guns to look nice."

Jill shrugged. "I don't care if it looks good," she said, reaching up to remove the shotgun, "so long as it-What the hell?"

As soon as she had lifted the shotgun from the mount, the two metal bars retracted into the wall with a click.

"Huh" said Mat. "That was weird."

"No kidding" said Jill, cracking open the shotgun. It was an old school, double barreled over/under. And, as luck would have it-"It's empty" she muttered.  
Mat shook his head in disgust. "I guess it would be too easy to find an actually _loaded_ weapon, wouldn't it?" He thought for a minute. "Wait a minute; I think I might have something for you."

Jill watched as he began to pat himself down. "Ah-ha!" he exclaimed, pulling a handful of small, metal cylinders out of his pocket. "I was afraid I'd dropped these back in the Hive. These are leftovers from my Benelli. Since it's no longer with us, why don't you take them?"

Jill took the offered shells, then tried to load them into the hunting gun…only to find they didn't fit. Disgustedly, she handed them back to Mat.

"Sorry" he said. "Must not be the same gauge." He shook his head. "I wonder if modern shells would even _work_ in this think. It looks older than my grandpa."

"Let's look around" said Jill. "Maybe there are some in here with us."

They began to examine the glass cases which ringed the room. Jill peered inside the first one she came to, but it only held a series of black and white photographs of what looked like a rather British hunting party. She moved on to the next case…and hit the jackpot. Inside _it_ were about two dozen solid metal slugs.

"Even better" Jill muttered. The solid lead slugs would have more stopping power than bird- or buckshot. They wouldn't scatter, but could tear a grown man in half.

Jill drew her handgun, flipped it over, and used the grip to smash open the case. Ignoring a startled exclamation from Mat, she broke open the medicine gun, then loaded two slugs in before putting the rest in her pockets. "I found some" she said. "We can go."

"Good" said Mat, casting a wary eye on the Grizzly. "I don't like the way he's looking at me." Jill would have laughed at that, had he not sounded so serious.

Jill headed through the door first. She heard a faint _click_ underneath her boots, and then the door slammed closed behind her. Instantly, she spun around, trying the knob. It was stuck fast.

She could hear Mat jiggling it on the other side. "C'mon, Jill!" he said irritably. "This isn't funny."

"This isn't me" Jill replied. "The door just slammed on its own. I think it's some sort of trap."

"A trap? What do you mean?"

"I don't know" Jill called back. "I just heard a noise when I stepped inside. And-" A sudden groaning cut her off. "Oh God, what did I do now?" she muttered to herself.

"Jill, what's going on in there?" Mat asked. "What's that noise?"  
Jill didn't answer at first. She was too busy staring at the ceiling, watching in horror as it began to retract toward her.

"Jill! What's going on in there?" Mat asked again, real concern in his voice.

"It's the ceiling!" she shouted back. "It's collapsing! Help me get this door open!"

She heard a faint cocking noise from the other side of the door. "Stand back" Mat said. No sooner had Jill done so then she heard the report from the P90, followed by a loud crack.

"Mother_fuck_!" she heard Mat exclaim a second later.

"Mat? What happened?"

There was a pause. "This door…it's wooden with a metal center. I don't know which one, exactly, but I just almost shot myself. I wouldn't recommend trying to use the shotgun to break it open."

"Then what can we do?" Jill asked, trying not to panic.

"I'll think of something. Just hang on."

"Uh" said Jill, looking at the ceiling. It was almost close enough to touch. "Things are getting rather…claustrophobic in here."

Then she heard something from behind her. Spinning around, she saw the other door, the one they had come in through. She hadn't thought about it until now, but it didn't matter; it was apparently locked.

Whoever was jiggling the handle realized that too. "Jill? Jill, can you hear me?"

"Barry!" she exclaimed. "You've got to get me out of here! The ceiling, it's…Just hurry!"

"Okay" said Barry from the outer door. "Jill, I need you to stand ba-"

"Wait!" Jill shouted. "Barry, the door is bulletproof."  
She imagined him grinning wickedly on the other side. "It might be, but I'll bet the lock isn't."

Jill didn't have a chance to respond to that. There was a loud bang, the door shuddered, then was pulled open.

"Take my hand!" Barry shouted. Without hesitation, Jill complied.

The next thing she knew, she was lying on the floor, breathing heavily next to Barry. They sat in silence as the ceiling met the floor.

"That was a close one" said Barry, looking over at Jill. "A second later, and _you_ might've fit nicely into a sandwich."

He meant it as a joke, but Jill was still too fresh from a near death experience to take him seriously. "Really?" she asked.

The smile on Barry's face fled immediately. "Sorry. Just trying to get you to loosen up a little, that's all."

They stood up.

"Thanks" said Jill. "For…everything. I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't come by."

"Best not to dwell on it" Barry said. "C'mon, let's get out of here."

"Hang on" Jill said. "I found one of the Bravos. Well, not a STARS precisely, but Mat Dawson. He and I were working together." She pointed at the now useless door. "He's in there."

"In _there_?" Barry repeated. "Jesus, Jill. Poor kid's as flat as pancake. There's nothing more we can do for him."  
"No, there's a door on the other side. He's trapped back there now." Jill looked down at the shotgun, and things began to fall into place. "And I think it's my fault. I triggered the trap that caught us in there."

"It'll be okay" said Barry. "We'll figure out some way to get poor Dawson out of there." He fished in his vest pocket for a minute, then pulled something free. "Here, take a look at this. I found it earlier, and thought it might be useful."

Jill examined the paper. "Death Masks?" she asked aloud.

"Yeah" said Barry. "I think there's some sort of puzzle lock. And these things are the key. It's crazy, I know, but there's more. This place, I think it's some sort of-"

"Bioweapons lab" Jill finished. "Mat already told me. Apparently the Bravos have had their hands full over the last day. There's all sorts of nasties loose in the forest. I don't know a whole lot myself, but…" She briefly filled him in on the zombies.

Barry didn't look terribly surprised. "All the more reason to find Chris and the other Bravos. Then we can get out of here."

"What about Captain Wesker?" Jill asked. "Have you seen him?"

Barry didn't answer at first. His face became troubled for a minute, then went back to its normal amiable self. "No. Sorry. I forgot about him. We'll need to figure out where he is too, of course. Now, shall we go?"

Jill nodded, and they set off.

What Barry had said made sense. All the same, she felt bad about leaving Mat behind. True, barring some unknown monster hiding in the trophy room, he was a lot safer than she and Barry were.

But there was something…off about her fellow STARS operative. Jill resolved to keep a close eye on him. Just in case.


	8. Danger

Chapter 7:

Danger

(CHRIS)

"Watch out!" Rebecca shouted, unnecessarily, as the huge snake forced its way into the library. It shook its head from side to side, its two evil eyes seeking prey.

Chris ejected the empty mag from his Samurai Edge, loaded the fresh one, and chambered a new round, his eyes darting as he planned his next move.

Richard was, without question, out of the fight. Rebecca, however, was close by, trying to shield the big man with her small, delicate body.

The snake coiled back, ready to strike, its breath hissing out like a leaky tire.

"No!" shouted Chris, diving forward. His shoulder connected with Rebecca's chest, explosively driving the air from her lungs. He landed on top of her, and heard her groan feebly.

A second later, the snake took a big bite out of the floor where she had been standing. Shaking its head in confusion, it tried to find them again.

Chris rolled off Rebecca, bringing up the Samurai Edge as he did so. He pulled the trigger twice, the 9mm bullets striking the monster's head.

Striking, and flattening against its tough skin.

"Shit" he muttered, realizing that his one means of fighting was likely to prove useless in all ways except to piss the thing off, and further that he'd wasted two irreplaceable bullets to learn this terrible truth.

The snake reared back to strike again, and Chris and Rebecca rolled in opposite directions, again evading the blow.

The monster snake let out a hiss of rage, raising its head up to the level of the second tier of bookcases, its eyes darting back and forth between Chris and Rebecca, as if unsure which to chase.

_It's ignoring Richard_ Chris realized. _It must be able to tell he's not going anywhere anytime soon._ That wasn't a comforting thought, even if it meant he would only have to baby-sit Rebecca…

"Chris!" she shouted, and he turned to see her toss him something. Chris stretched his hands out on reflex and caught Richard's shotgun.

"Use it!" Rebecca shouted, snapping him out of his confusion.

Chris squinted down the weapon's iron sights, taking a breath and holding it. Even with the heavy scatter gun in his hands, he still wanted to be sure his shot did the most damage. And that meant aiming very carefully.

Chris pulled the trigger, and was rewarded with an angry, pain-filled hiss from the giant serpent. It thrashed about wildly, its suddenly useless eyes a mess of blood.

"Gotcha, motherfucker" Chris muttered softly.

The snake fell heavily to the wooden floor, its body rocking from side to side. Slowly it wriggled its way back to its tunnel. Chris watched it go, confident that it wouldn't, _couldn't_ trouble them again.

Turning, he saw Rebecca had knelt down beside Richard, a hand pressed to his forehead.

"He's burning up" she said, anxiously. "And he passed out while we were fighting that monstrosity." She turned, her eyes finding Chris, a look of sudden desperation in them. "He needs medicine. Serum. And I'm the only person here who can help him. I-I have to go."

Chris nodded. "Then go. I'll keep an eye on him in the meantime. But hurry. Who knows what else is out there. The sooner the three of us get a move on, the better off we'll be."

Rebecca didn't need any extra urging. Without a backwards glance, she turned and left the way Chris assumed they had entered, disappearing around a corner.

And in a moment, the library was silent again, aside from the weak, labored sound of Richard's breathing.

(REBECCA)

Rebecca hurried down the deserted hallways, back the way she'd come. Her mind frantic, her breath came in short, quick puffs, her chest heaving.

_Hurry_.

Irritably, she backed tracked, after realizing she had, in her haste, run past the door she wanted. Silently she cursed the lost seconds.

_Hurry_.

Rebecca yanked open, the door, ignoring the jolt she felt as it rammed into the toe of her shoe. She hurried inside, making for the cabinet at the far end.

She jerked open the glass shutters on the medical cabinet, carelessly shoving aside vials and bottles as she hunted for the chemicals she needed. More than a few bottles fell to the floor and shattered, but she didn't care. All she needed was to make the antidote for Richard. That was the only important thing. To make sure she didn't let her teammate down.

At last, the serum was ready. Rebecca hurriedly thrust it into her belt pouch, quickly making sure it was secure, before hurrying back to open the door.

So hurried was Rebecca that she didn't see the man waiting on the other side until she was almost in his outstretched arms.

"Ahh!" she exclaimed as the zombie reached forward his cold and numb hands, gripping her small shoulders with his surprisingly strong fingers.

The young woman tried to twist out of the dead man's grip, but found that she couldn't. The zombie leaned forward, his mouth open wide to take a bit out of her tense throat, eager to tear her open and consume her as she bled out on the floor.

_No_ she thought to herself firmly. _No. Not after the train crash and the chopper going down and Marcus and the Umbrella training grounds and everything else. No. It is _not_ going to end here._

Rebecca bent her knees, then lunged forward, her head striking the taller zombie's chest. Off balance, the dead man fell back, his grip slackening but still almost taking her down with him.

Rebecca leaned to the left, twisting free of the zombie's grip, then hurried past the still struggling animated corpse. By the time the dead man managed to climb back to his feet, she was long gone, and his primitive mind had already forgotten the escaped meal.

(CHRIS)

Rebecca burst into the library, breathing heavily, her face pale, a pair of slimy looking handprints on her shoulders.

"What happened?" Chris asked, standing up from where he'd been sitting beside Richard. "Are you okay? Did you get the serum?"

Rebecca walked forward, so obviously out of breath that Chris knew his answers would have to wait.

The rookie cop knelt down beside her unconscious teammate and pulled a vial out of her side pouch, along with a syringe. Carefully, so as not to break the needle, she thrust the syringe through the paper top of the vial, then withdrew it, tapping the injector with her index finger. Then she took hold of Richard's arm with one hand, while she used the other to place the syringe up and against the vein at the crook of his elbow. Slowly she pushed down the plunger.

The change in Richard was fast. Almost immediately his breathing slowed, but began to sound less frantic, less hurried and pained.

"What did you give him?" Chris asked, stepping closer and offering Rebecca a hand to help her stand up.

The young cop shook her head, her red hair bobbing over her eyes for a moment. She sat back, trying to slow her breathing. After a moment, she had recovered enough to answer Chris's question.

"It's an immune booster, mixed in with a powerful anti-toxin I've only read about. Why they have it here I can only guess." She took a deep breath, and her speech became slower, more natural. "On top of that I gave him a mild sedative, although as tired as he is it won't take long for it to take effect and he'll be out for a while. It'll make him heal faster, though." She shook her head. "I know I shouldn't be jealous, but I wish I'd saved some for me. I could use another nap."

"How long have you been active?" Chris asked, concern in his voice. He'd said earlier that Rebecca was too tired to keep operating, but he was only now beginning to understand just how exhausted she must be.

Rebecca squinted down at the watch on her left wrist. "As of now, about twenty-six and a half hours." She shook her head. "I haven't been up that long since college. I'm gonna be _dead_ when I get home…"  
Chris snorted, despite himself. "I hope not."  
Rebecca looked up at him in confusion. "Oh" she said flatly, after a moment. "You're being funny. I get it now." She laughed once, weakly, then rose unsteadily to her own feet, looking down at the unconscious Richard. "He's in no condition to move."

Chris nodded. "I know. He's going to have to stay here."

Rebecca's eyes flashed. "We can't just leave him here _alone!_ What if that snake comes back? Or, something worse could find him." Her whole body shuddered, and Chris wondered just what she'd been through in the past few hours.

"He won't be alone" he said simply. "I'd like you to stay here with him. Keep him safe, like you were doing earlier." _And that way you'll be able to get some rest, too_. Chris didn't want to say that, for fear of hurting her pride.

In her sleep deprived state, Rebecca didn't figure that out on her own, either. Or maybe she _did_ realize, but was too tired to care that she was being removed from action. "What about you?" she asked instead.

"I have to find the other STARS" Chris said. "Your teammates who are still alive, plus the kid from SWAT."

Rebecca's eyes dropped down for a moment. "Oh, Mat." She said softly. "I had forgotten about him." She looked down, shaking her head. "You won't need to look for Mat. He didn't make it, either."

Chris blinked. _Damn, nearly all the people who went into the forest last night are dead. How did _she _make it?_

"I'm sorry" he said, knowing that it wasn't enough, but also knowing that he had to make the effort.

Rebecca went right on talking as if he hadn't said anything.

"I didn't tell Richard about it. I was too busy trying to keep him engaged, trying to keep him conscious. But Mat died saving our, saving _my_ life. He died a hero." She looked up at Chris, determination in her eyes. "And I want to make sure my life is worthy of that sacrifice."

"It will be" Chris said, reassuringly. "Once we get back to Raccoon City, people are gonna want to know what went on here. What happened. And you're going to be one of the people they want to talk to. You'll be able to tell them about Mat, and all the other people who didn't make it out of this nightmare. You'll be able to tell their story."  
Rebecca nodded. "Okay. Thank you." Without another word, she sat down next to Richard and began to stare at the gaping hole in the far wall, where the snake had come through.

Chris shook his head and left the library. There was something…not quite right about Rebecca. As though she'd come unhinged during the night before.

_Like you'd be a perfect specimen after seeing some of the stuff she has_ he thought to himself. _You're lucky she's not in there muttering to herself and writing REDRUM on the walls with Richard's blood._

All the same, he thought back to their previous conversations. And one thing stuck out.

Twice, Rebecca had referred to herself in the plural, then immediately corrected herself. Either she was developing a split personality…

_Or she wasn't alone_ Chris thought to himself. _And that someone she was with is someone she doesn't want me, and maybe even Richard, to know about._

Whatever was going on in the rookie STARS's head, Chris intended to find out. He had a nasty suspicion that something funny was going on.


	9. Basilisk

Chapter 8:

Basilisk

(JILL)

"Great" muttered Barry, looking out across the empty main hall. "He's still not back."

"Maybe he's in a position where he _can't_" Jill offered. Then, realizing how that sounded, she added "I mean, what if he's someplace safe, and is waiting for us? Or else maybe he's just busy…" Her voice trailed off; the excuses sounded weak even in her own ears.

"Well, there's nothing for it" said Barry. "We'll have to go back into the mansion and start looking for him. If we split up, we can cover more ground."

"Okay" said Jill, nodding and turning to go.

"Hey, Jill" Barry called out.

"Yeah?"

"Remember to keep an eye out for those death masks, or any keys. You never know what you might be able to open."

"Will do" Jill said, but the sound of a door closing told her Barry had already left the room.

_Great. You should too._

Jill had a choice, now. She could go back and try to pull Mat out of the trap she'd sprung earlier when she took the shotgun, or she could head out and begin to look for the masks directly.

After a moment's hesitation, she headed back the way she'd come. With Mat, she'd be able to cover ground even faster than she could alone, meaning that they'd find the masks all the quicker. She still wasn't sure how Barry had learned about the death masks (his story was just a _little_ flimsy), but if it meant she'd be out of this death trap faster, so much the better.

Jill headed upstairs, her Samurai Edge at the ready. From what Mat had told her, there were worse things than zombies and killer dogs loose in the mansion. She was especially not looking forward to an encounter with the unseen monster that had chased them earlier.

Jill rounded a corner, picked a door she thought looked familiar, and found herself in a new hallway, with a long staircase leading back down to the first floor, with a wall full of pictures on one side. Stumbling toward her, arms outstretched, was a zombie, this one apparently dead for some time, his shoes having already rotted away, his clothes in the process of going as well.

Jill took aim at his chest, her finger tightening on the trigger…then stopped, and re-sighted on the man's head. A quick pull of the trigger and the zombie crumpled, a smoking hole in his forehead.

Jill stepped forward, ready to continue down the hall, when a _second _zombie stumbled into view around a blind and unseen second corner, this one much closer and more vital looking.

An unknown instinct made Jill sidestep as the zombie jerked its head back, a sound coming from its open mouth as if it were about to sneeze. A second later, dark green mucus sprayed from its gaping jaws, falling where she had been standing a second earlier.

"Ugh" Jill said, involuntarily. It was bad enough that the zombies wanted to eat her, but now they also seemed to want to puke on her. What the hell?  
There was a loud hissing from the floor, and Jill saw that the zombie's sneeze was slowly eating its way through the floor.

"Outstanding" she muttered, as the zombie turned toward her.

It stepped through the puddle of acid, and Jill saw the fluids were beginning to eat through its feet. The zombie didn't seem to care, until the floor suddenly gave way and dropped it down to the ground below. Jill heard a sickening crunch and looked down, to see that the zombie had landed hard and destroyed both its knees, the white bones jutting through the sick yellow flesh of its legs.

The dead man sat on the floor, broken and thrashing helplessly, its mouth open as it continued to moan piteously.

Jill stepped over the new hole in the floor, hurrying away as it continued to creak worrisomely. There was a door at the end of the hall, and she stepped through, to find herself inside a long, narrow hallway.

There were pictures lining one wall, all of what she realized was the same person: a young boy. The pictures followed him through his life, from a baby to an old man. There was even a smiling image of a death's head, complete with a scythe, to represent Death.

_Death_ thought Jill. _As in Death Mask, perhaps?_ Mat had said something about Umbrella having a bizarre fetish for overly complicated locks. Maybe this was some sort of puzzle, and the prize was one of the masks she needed.

Jill stepped forward, to a plaque hanging next to the first picture.

CRADLE TO GRAVE

MOTHER'S ARMS TO DEATH'S EMBRACE

LIFE'S FIRST BREATH TO FINAL RESTING PLACE

GIVE DEATH HIS DUE AND RECEIVE HIS FACE

Jill shook her head. There easier ways to word the instructions, but somehow she was supposed to order the pictures from first to last. She'd noticed that the pictures seemed to be out of order, and now she knew why.

"Okay" she said softly, stepping toward what she assumed was the first picture, a middle aged woman holding a baby. She tried jiggling the frame, but the picture seemed to have been bolted to the wall. _Strange_ she thought to herself. _How am I supposed to-Oh, right._

Underneath the picture was a toggle. Jill flipped it to the left. Across the room, there was a soft click that sounded like it came from behind a suspicious looking wall panel. _Hello, secret compartment_ Jill thought to herself.

Jill moved on to the next picture, the one of a young boy. She tried flipping the switch over to the far left again, but heard a click before it had traveled the entire way. _So, the switches have a specific stopping point as well_ she realized. The switches were going to gradually make their way to the right as things progressed.

That knowledge in mind, Jill finished the puzzle in less than five minutes, feeling just a little disappointed. She'd been expecting more, and she was now worried that her "prize" wouldn't be what she had hoped for.

The wall panel slid open, revealing a grinning skull. Jill stepped forward, her handgun at the ready, in case something monstrous jumped out and tried to beat her to death, but nothing happened. There was just…a skull, sitting there, grinning at her. Then suddenly it became clear.

The skull was for the one picture she hadn't used, the one with the smiling Grim Reaper. _Give Death his due. _And this _was_ a skull. _Wonderful_ Jill thought to herself, reaching out to take the Death's Head, holding it carefully so she didn't drop it. There was a click from the Death portrait, and a small shelf slid out. Jill stepped forward, placing the skull directly in the center of the shelf, then waited for something else to happen.

After a moment, the shelf dropped down under the weight of the skull, and there was another click as the painting slid up, revealing another shelf.

A shelf, upon which sat a rather obscene, gothic mask, with empty eye sockets and look of permanent disapproval. Jill reached out and took the mask, weighing it in her hand. It was just a mask, made of a light weight metal. She reached down and tucked it under her belt, then moved back toward the door.

_That wasn't so hard_ she thought to herself.

(BARRY)

There was a niche in the gate. It was about the size of Barry's two closed fists, and looked like it was meant to hold some sort of polygonal shape. Beyond the gate was a set of stairs, leading down into the bowels of the mansion.

"You need the Umbrella emblem" Wesker said from behind him.

Barry did his best not to jump. He thought he did a pretty good job. He was good at watching his back, in case some hungry zombie tried to come up behind him, but Wesker just wasn't human, damn his black soul.

"What's down there?" he asked, trying to ignore how close Wesker was to him.

The STARS captain (_Umbrella agent_, Barry corrected), was leaning against a wall, his arms folded. "A whole lot of things you don't want to mess with, along with one of the keys you need." Barry suspected his eyes were smiling behind his glasses. "Which means there's another item for you to track down."

Barry tried to keep his temper in check. "Do you have any idea where it is?"

Now Wesker _did_ smile. "It's in the mausoleum, out back, which you can't open without the death masks." He paused. "Though, I recommend you find something heavier than your revolver first. Dear Lisa likes to roam the grounds near there, and she's not very kind to trespassers."

Barry hefted the Silver Serpent. "I think I'll manage."

Wesker shrugged, pushing off the wall. "Fine" he said with a shrug. "Have it your way. So long as you bring those death masks to me, I don't care if you want to try and beat her to death with your bare hands."

Barry smiled coldly. "There are other people I think are more deserving of it."

Wesker snorted. "Fair enough." He turned and walked away.

Barry had to exercise a great deal of self control to keep from shooting Wesker in the back with the Silver Serpent. He imagined the .44 slamming into the other man's back, the bullet painting the wall in front of him with blood as it punched through his body, the look of surprise on his face so delicious…

"Barry, remember your family" Wesker said, without turning.

Then he was gone, and Barry stood alone, hating himself for how close he'd almost come to destroying his entire life.

(JILL)

Barry wasn't in the main hall when Jill returned. She contemplated waiting for him, but decided against it. It wasn't as though the mask was too heavy to carry around, and instead of standing around doing nothing, she could be out looking for the others.

She decided to head back to the top floor and check a different door. She headed to the left, up a shorter flight of stairs, and through a side door.

She found herself in an apparently unfinished hallway. A large mirror leaned up against the far wall, showing her the reflection around the bend…and the zombie standing there without a care in the world.

Jill pulled the Samurai Edge out of its holster, making sure the safety was off and a round was chambered. At the sound of the slide clicking back, the zombie's head jerked back down the hallway, glazed and sightless eyes searching for the source of the noise. With an almost irritated moan it turned and began to shamble down the hallway, toward her.

Jill let the zombie round the corner, then put a round through his brain. The zombie let out a startled groan and slumped back against the mirror, the weight of his body cracking the surely expensive glass.

She stepped past the dead man, ignoring him as if he were a part of the scenery. She didn't need to see another broken and bleeding body lying stretched out of the floor. Already she'd shot more people tonight than she had in her entire career as a cop.

_Well, when you get out of this, you can check yourself into some therapy_ she told herself. _Until then, keep your head in the game!_

She rounded another corner, careful to keep the Samurai Edge up and ready in case more zombies were waiting for her. There weren't, but she _did_ find more stairs.

_Guess we're going up_ she thought to herself.

It soon became clear she was climbing some sort of tower. She climbed another set of stairs, to find herself inside a smaller room, with bare wood panels of a dark, damp color. There were two directions for her to go: a door to her left, or a ladder to her right.

"Let's find out what's behind door number one" Jill muttered, stepping toward the left, her left hand reaching out for the knob.

Suddenly, there was a crashing from the floor below her, and Jill's hand jerked back, her head whipping around.

Below her she heard a pained groan. It didn't sound like one of the infected. It sounded like a person, and one who needed help.

Jill cast one last, longing look at the door before her. Then she shook her head. _Protect and serve_ she thought, before turning and going back the way she'd come.

The floor below had been a wide open room; what looked like some sort of loft. There was hay scattered about the floor, which, along with the shape of the roof supports (the room had a slightly steepled feel to it) made the entire area seem like a barn. There was a dry, sweetly bitter smell that lingered in the air and made Jill uncomfortable.

There was a small, moving lump in the hay. As Jill stepped closer, it moved and shifted, the dry hay falling away, and she could see who it was.

"Mat!" she exclaimed, running forward. "What happened?"

Mat groaned again and rolled over, crawling forward a short distance, and Jill realized he'd been inside some sort of trap door.

"How'd you get down there?" she asked.

"Jill" he said groggily as he stood up, shaking hay from his body. "It's good to see you. I thought you were dead. I heard the ceiling collapse, and I…Well, it's good to see you're okay. How'd you survive?"  
"Barry. He arrived at just the right time to pull me out. What about you? How'd you get out?"  
"Well," Mat said, "the ceiling didn't rise, so I knew I wouldn't be able to get out the same way we came in. I started moving things around inside the room, hoping there would be another way out. And a found one: a little vent behind one of the gun racks. I've been crawling through the vents for the past twenty minutes or so, with all the zombie rats. It wasn't pleasant."

"Zombie rats?" Jill asked, suddenly wary. "When I heard you moan earlier, my first thought was that you were infected." She looked pointedly at the bloody bandages on his arm. "How's your wound?"

Mat looked down at it for a moment. "It's as well as can be expected, given the circumstances. I need to get it cleaned, or it's gonna get infected. It'd be pretty anticlimactic to come through all this unharmed, then die from some stupid like septicemia."

"That still doesn't answer why you were up here making noises like you were hurt earlier" Jill said pointedly. Ever so slowly, her finger inched its way back to the trigger on the Samurai Edge.

"Oh, that?" Mat asked, sounding a little embarrassed. "I hit my head on the hatch. Hurt like a son of a bitch, too."

Jill relaxed a little, feeling relieved. A second later, she hated herself. _Calm down, Valentine! You've got to be able to trust _somebody_, right?_

"Everything okay?" Mat asked.

Jill nodded slowly. "Yeah. I was just…thinking."  
"I see" said Mat. "You ought to be more careful. That can be dangerous."

Jill nodded in agreement, then suddenly stopped. "Are you making fun of me?" she asked.

Mat's face became a mask of innocence. "_Me_? Certainly not!"

Jill snorted, despite herself. _Poor kid_ she thought. _He's gotta be at least as keyed up as you are. It's amazing he can still function at all, let alone make stupid jokes._

Suddenly, there was a loud scraping noise. Both police officers looked up, eyes scanning for the source of the sound.

"What _is_ that?" Mat asked.

"I don't know" Jill replied. "It sounds like something being dragged..." A sense of foreboding began to grow in her stomach. "We need to go, right now!"

"What?" Mat asked, sending her a confused look.

Jill started to say something, started to explain the bad feeling she was having, but it was already too late. There was a loud crash from the far wall, a roar, and suddenly the largest snake she had ever seen was slithering its way into the room.

"Oh shit!" exclaimed Mat. Jill briefly registered the sound of him chambering a round in his P90, and then all sound was drowned out in the hissing roar of the monstrous cobra that swayed to and fro before them, its frill expanded like a massive sail.

Jill found herself being drawn into its dance. It was large, slow, and hypnotic, and she found herself slowing drifting into oblivion.

"Jill, watch out!" The shout barely registered in her consciousness as Jill slowly fell into the rhythmic motion of the giant serpent. _Can't Mat come back some other time?_ She wondered dreamily. _I'm so tired…_

His shout hadn't gotten her attention, but there was no way Jill could ignore the force of his body as he slammed into her side, knocking her off her feet. They tumbled behind one of the rafters, and Jill felt a brief flare of pure anger for having her blissful dream interrupted.

The sound of wood splintering brought her back to reality, and she looked over to see the snake shaking its head, dislodging pieces of broken floor board as it recoiled for another strike.

"Mat!" she shouted, looking for him. "Mat, we have to move!"

Her eyes fell on the other cop, and Jill's heart sank as she saw he was in no condition to move. He'd hit his head when he knocked her out of the way of the snake, and he was out cold.

The snake's head jerked in her direction when she'd said Mat's name, and it struck again, taking a bite of the thing wooden wall that was their only protection.

Jill crouched low and ran to the left, drawing her Samurai Edge as she did so. The cobra seemed to be having trouble tracking her movements, its head just a few steps behind her as it struck again.

Jill spun and opened fire, her bullets striking its flat skull. The cobra jerked back, shaking its head from side to side. She heard a sound like someone dropping coins on a wooden counter, and saw her perfectly flattened 9mm bullets clatter to the floor.

"Oh, not good" she muttered, then had to dive out of the way as the snake lunged again.

Jill came out of her roll, keeping her body low, trying to keep her breathing as soft as possible. The cobra's head pivoted from side to side, as if it were looking for her. But Jill realized it couldn't actually see her; judging by the streaks of blood running down its head, it had had bullets put through both eyes.

_Chris_ she realized. It could just as easily have been Barry, or Wesker, or one of the Bravos, or someone she didn't even know. But something told her it was her wayward teammate, and the realization that he was still alive was enough to spur her on.

She reached down with one hand slowly, careful not to take her eyes off the snake, until her fingers brushed across a piece of broken wood. Carefully she picked it up, testing its weight in her hand. _This better work_ she thought to herself.

The hunk of wood bounced off the wall with a loud THUNK. The cobra's head jerked around, its frill expanding again. With a hiss of impotent rage, it struck out at the wall, burying itself deep in the wooden paneling.

_Okay, so now you know how to get its attention_ Jill thought. _Now, what are you going to do with that knowledge?_

The cobra's skin was too thick for her bullets, and its eyes were already gone. That left her with one last option…

_Oh, I am _not_ going to enjoy this_ Jill thought to herself as she picked up another piece of wood, her fingers curling around it tightly.

With a flick of her wrist she dropped the piece of wood a few feet in front of her. The cobra's head jerked around at the noise, and it reared back to strike again.

Jill braced her feet, taking steady aim down the Samurai Edge's iron sights. She'd only have one shot at this; otherwise she'd be a nice dinner for the hungry snake.

The cobra struck, a hiss of rage escaping its open mouth. Jill fired once, twice, three, four times into the thing's gaping jaws, and was rewarded with a scream of a different pitch. The monstrous serpent jerked its head back, lulling about in mortal agony as the life slowly drained from its body. With a last convulsion it collapsed and lay still.

After a moment, Jill stepped forward to admire her handiwork. She'd managed to put two bullets straight through the snake's mouth, the 9mm rounds punching cleanly through its brain. There was no way it could have survived those wounds.

Satisfied the cobra was dead, Jill returned to Mat.

He also appeared dead, or at least far enough unconscious that it made no difference. Jill tried to pick him up, but found that his dead weight was too much for her slender frame to support.

_Great_ she thought to herself. _He saves your life, and you have to leave him behind. Again. Some friend you are._

But Jill didn't have any choice. She couldn't take Mat with her; he would slow her down and likely get them both killed. And if she stayed here with him, she couldn't go out and find the other Death Masks. Abandoning Mat was her only option.

She hurried back upstairs, planning to check the upper rooms before coming back down. Perhaps in the meantime Mat would have woken up.

He didn't.

_There's nothing you can do_ Jill realized. _You don't know enough about head injuries to be confident you can move him without killing him. If he comes to, you can figure out what's wrong. Until then, he's just going to have to stay put._

Jill walked away, silently promising Mat to come back for him.


	10. Moonlight

Chapter 9:

Moonlight

(RICHARD)

The world slowly returned to Richard Aiken. With it came a severe headache, the sort that felt like every blood vessel in his skull had decided to join a marching band.

"Ohhhhhh" he said weakly, raising a hand to shield his eyes; even through his closed eyelids, the light inside whatever room he lay was too bright.

"Richard!" a familiar voice exclaimed from out of the searing light, and suddenly everything came back to him.

"Rebecca!" he shouted, sitting up, his eyes snapping open, then immediately squinting in the cruel glare. "Is everything okay?"

He felt Rebecca's hands on his shoulders, forcing him back up against the wall gently but firmly. "I wasn't expecting you to wake up this quickly. You've only been out for about thirty minutes. You need more rest. You were in a bad way."

"Is everything okay?" Richard asked again, this time more forcefully.

There was a pause. "Oh, right" Rebecca said, after thinking for a moment. "You passed out when we were fighting the giant snake. It's okay now. Chris blinded it, and it ran away."  
"Chris saved us? Where is he?"

"He went back to look for the rest of Bravo team, or at least those of us who are still alive." She paused. "He stayed here for a minute, so I could go make you some medicine." She paused again. "I guess that makes us even?"  
Richard was confused. "Even?"

"Well, maybe not. But you got bitten trying to protect me. It's my fault you got hurt. So I just want to try and repay what I owe you."  
Richard smiled, despite himself. "Kiddo, we're square. You don't have anything to worry about."

"Thanks" Rebecca said, after a moment. "How do you feel?"

"Honestly?" Richard asked, opening his eyes more fully. Slowly the world resolved out of a white and yellow haze into more solid forms.

The library had taken a pounding since he'd last seen it. Two more bookcases had fallen, spilling their contents on the wooden floor. There were also spent handgun casings and an empty shotgun shell, making the room look like what it was: the site of a desperate last stand.

Rebecca was kneeling a few feet away from him, a look of concern on her face. He turned to face her.

"Honestly, I feel pretty good" he said, massaging his temple with one hand. "Granted, my arm is still numb and my forehead feels like it has one of those things from _Alien _in it, but other than that…"  
"Well, if you're not ready, we can wait here a while longer…"  
"Wait? What for?"

"Well, to go find Chris, of course. He'll need our help finding the rest of the STARS."

"I guessed at that" Richard said, standing up. He needed a moment to be sure he wouldn't fall back down, but eventually he managed. After a quick look around, he found the shotgun. Reaching down and collecting the scattergun was an ordeal in and of itself, but he managed to accomplish that task as well. Considering how numb his arm was, he was surprised he was able to chamber a new round in the weapon. "Why not go now?"

Rebecca looked at him like he was out of his mind. "You can't be serious. I mean, you were just _unconscious_ a few seconds ago, and now you want to go wandering around in a monster infested mansion?"

"That's about the size of it" said Richard, stepping toward the door. "Are you coming?"  
"But, you're not-"

Richard turned back to her and smiled. "Doc, it must be your amazing bedside manner, because I feel like brand-new. What did you give me, anyway?"

Rebecca shrugged. "A cocktail of about half a dozen different chemicals I found in that first aid room we passed earlier. I'd never seen some of them before, but I knew what they'd do, and…I just never expected them to work this fast, is all."  
Richard nodded. "Well, I appreciate the effort. Now, let's get a move on, before they wear off."

(CHRIS)

He stared at the piano with something akin to wary disgust, as if he was sizing up a new foe.

"We'll just see who's smarter" he muttered to himself.

Out of idle curiosity and frustration more than anything else, he'd noticed the piano was bolted to the floor. Since that was strange in and of itself (how likely was someone to just pick it up and walk away with it, after all?), Chris had sat down and decided to try playing it.

That hadn't accomplished much, except for him to learn there was some sort of bizarre weight underneath the piano, and that led him to suspect there was more to things then met the eye….He just wasn't sure what, exactly.

There was a folder full of music sitting on the piano, but Chris had never learned how to read it; he'd taught himself to play the guitar by ear, but he doubted the same principles applied to the more…refined instruments.

He kept banging away regardless. He'd read somewhere that a room full of monkeys could write out the complete works of Shakespeare if given enough time and a set of typewriters. He wasn't sure about that, but he suspected he might be able to figure something out if he just kept at it.

He didn't hear anyone walking in the hall outside, but he'd snapped the Samurai Edge up in an instance when the door swung open.

"Oh" he said, relaxing and lowering the handgun. "I thought you were…Well, I guess I'm just getting a little paranoid."

"That's okay" said Rebecca as she and Richard entered the music room. "What are you doing?"

"There's some sort of puzzle here" Chris said, gesturing toward the piano. "I assume you have to follow the music here, but I can't read it, so I have no idea what to do except keep trying random notes."  
"Hey, let me see that" said Rebecca, stepping forward and picking the music up off the piano.

"How ya doing, Richard?" Chris asked.

The Bravo B & A man just smiled casually. "I've been worse, but I expect I'll live."

"Glad to hear it" Chris replied. "Say, how'd you guys find me, anyway?"  
Rebecca snorted, not looking up from the music. "That's easy, sir. We heard you in the library, and we figured no zombie would _ever _be caught dead playing the piano that badly."

Chris made a face. "That awful, was it?"

Rebecca nodded, still not looking up. "Yeah, it was pretty horrific. Fortunately, my grandmother insisted I learn how to play." She pointed to the bench Chris was sitting on. "May I?"

"Of course" said Chris, getting up.

Rebecca sat down, then placed the music on the piano. After studying it for a moment longer, she looked up. "We're in luck. This is the 'Moonlight Sonata.' It was one of my grandma's favorites. I'm probably a little rusty, but let's see how this goes." Without further hesitation, she turned around and began to play.

The name of the song had sounded vaguely familiar to Chris, although the melody that Rebecca began to play bore little semblance to any tune he'd ever heard, or any tune at all, as far as he could determine.

After about ninety seconds of false starts, abrupt stops, and slow, clumsy notes, Rebecca stopped playing and turned to face her two fellow STARS. "Maybe I need a little practice" she said sheepishly.

Chris thought he deserved an Oscar because he could keep a straight face after that little understatement. "That's okay" he said, looking over at Richard. "Why don't you two stay here, while I keep looking around?"

Richard coughed loudly. "Stay-ah-here?" he managed. "Wouldn't I be worth more to you?"

Chris shook his head. "No, I need you two to be where I can find you. Either that means both of you come with me, or you both stay together in the same place. It's the only thing that makes sense."  
Richard looked like he wanted to protest more, either because he wanted to be helping Chris or because he didn't want to be stuck listening to Rebecca play, but found no fault in his comrade's logic. "Fair enough" he said after a moment. "But I-we'll only wait here for an hour. Then we'll come looking for you."

Chris smiled and shrugged. "Oh, I doubt it will take that long." Then he turned and walked away. He had no way of knowing just how wrong he'd been.

(REBECCA)

It took her about twenty minutes longer than she would have liked (along with several pained glances from Richard), but Rebecca finally managed to produce the Moonlight Sonata. Perhaps she was a bit slower than her grandmother would have liked, but she managed to hit every note correctly and still keep the melody intact.

There was a click from a few feet away, and a wall panel slid open. Rebecca started to get up, only to have the panel begin to slide back into place.

"Stay there" Richard said, gesturing with his free hand, while the other unslung his shotgun. "I'll take a look. Just keep playing. I don't want to get locked inside."

"Okay" said Rebecca, nodding, before she launched back into the piece.

She took thing s a bit faster this time, more confident in the music. All the same, she kept glancing up worriedly to see whether or not Richard had returned.

At last he stepped back into the music room, a small shinning object in his hand.

"Take a look at this" he said, holding it up in the light for her to see.

Rebecca stood up from the piano bench, and the wall panel immediately slid closed. Richard took a hasty step forward, away from the moving wall.

"Interesting lock" he said. "You'd need two people to open it, and one would have to know how to play the piano." He turned to Rebecca and smiled. "Good thing you were here, or we never would've gotten this."

Rebecca took a step closer, eager to see their prize. "What is it?"

"It's a key" Richard said simply, handing it to her.

Rebecca rolled the small piece of brass in her hand, feeling its coldness through the exposed palm of her fingerless glove. One end was shaped like any other key, with two long, thin teeth less than an inch long, but the other was larger and heavier. It was a round disc, in the shape of a shield, with a familiar red and white pattern. Looking down at Umbrella's emblem made Rebecca take a deep breath.

Richard noticed her discomfort and put his hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Rebecca. We'll shut these guys down for good. And now we're one step closer." He took the key from Rebecca, then gestured toward the door. "C'mon, let's go find Chris."


	11. Masks

Chapter 10:

Masks

(MAT)

Although he didn't know it, Mat Dawson had something in common with Richard Aiken. Both of them passed out during a fight with the Umbrella BOW known as Yawn, and both of them woke up with raging headaches.

Mat, unlike Richard, did not benefit from having Rebecca there waiting for him to come to. In fact, he regained consciousness without anyone at all around.

He looked around, furiously blinking as he tried to clear his vision. His eyes focused on the dead snake, and he let out a surprised yelp and scurried back a few feet, before he became sure it wouldn't be getting up again. Then he collected the P90 and took a better look around the room.

It didn't take him long to realize he was alone.

"Damn it, _again_?" he muttered to himself. "Why does she always run off and leave me?"  
He shook his head, then winced at the pain it brought him. If Jill had left him, there had probably been a reason. At least she'd had the decency to kill the snake before abandoning him; he probably wouldn't even have gotten to wake up if she hadn't.

With a sigh, he headed for the door.

And stopped.

Sitting recessed into one of the walls was a face, grinning at him impudently (and for no reason Mat could see, given its lack of nose) was the most hideous mask he'd ever seen.

Mat reached out and took it, feeling the weight of it in his hands. This was just the sort of thing Umbrella liked to use as a key in their twisted puzzles. _I just hope it's not part of a set_ he thought. _That would really suck._

He shrugged and drew his handgun; since he had nowhere to put the mask he'd need to carry it, and therefore needed a weapon he could carry one handed.

Mask in hand, Mat made his way back to the door. The night was still (apparently) young, and he needed to get a move on. He still had a job to do.

(BARRY)

Barry hefted the mask in his hands, feeling its weight. It was light, apparently made out of wood, and thin, with a smooth face. He remembered the paper Wesker had given him. Masks that could see, smell, or speak evil…

"And one that can't do any of those" he realized, looking down at the featureless mask. "I'd better take this outside and put it to use."

He headed back toward the rear of the mansion, keeping the Silver Serpent ready in case of any unwelcome surprises. He heard shuffling feet around one corner, and another time he could have sworn he heard rattling chains, but both sound s came to nothing. As far as he could tell, Barry was alone in the mansion. _Wouldn't that be nice_ he thought to himself, shaking his head. If he were alone, then he wouldn't have two jobs to do, one to help his team and one to sell them out. If he were alone, he'd be able to leave whenever he wanted. _If only…_

He came around another corner, the magnum revolver stretched out in front of him. Most of the STARS favored the Samurai Edge his buddies the Kendo brothers had constructed, which had a bottom rail on which they mounted flashlights. But Barry favored his own custom made Silver Serpent, with its heavier .44 rounds. He preferred a gun he only needed to fire once, as opposed to a 9mm he'd need to shoot again and again…

He ended up not needing to fire the revolver at all.

The room he found himself inside was a kitchen and, aside from a large hole in one of the windows, was untouched. Sitting on the island in the center was a Beretta M9 magazine, which Barry took and slid into a pocket. If he ran into Jill, he could give her the extra ammo.

There was a single, small door leading outside from the kitchen. Barry opened it, then stepped into the night.

It was cool, but the air was still heavy with unshed rain. It was almost like the forest was holding its breath. Barry shivered.

There was a narrow, winding path leading away from the door. Barry stepped onto it, hearing the gravel crunch beneath his boots. _Well, so much for the element of surprise_.

He stopped, listening to the air. All was quiet…_there!_ The sound of someone else taking a slow, clumsy step somewhere up ahead. _More zombies_ Barry thought grimly, making sure the Silver Serpent was ready to fire. _So much for this being easy_.

There was a single zombie held up on a fence post up ahead. Barry paused, took aim down his revolver's iron sights, and pulled the trigger. The report of the magnum drowned out the wet popping noise of the .44 round destroying the zombie's head, but Barry knew what it would sound like anyway. He was already moving before the headless man slid to the wet ground.

He dispatched two similarly unalert zombies with the same ease, and then found himself standing in front of a large wrought iron fence, the rusted gate sagging on its hinges.

There was a strange lock on the gate and a cutesy rhyme about where (or what the key) was, but Barry was sick of playing games. A solid smack from the Silver Serpent was enough to break through the lock, and then he had no trouble kicking it down the rest of the way. The gate fell to the ground with a loud CLANG, but it was already too late to worry about waking the dead. Someone else had already done that.

Barry stepped over the gate, feeling the still ringing metal through his boots. He paused and reloaded the revolver, then stepped into the graveyard.

The entire place looked as if it someone would like nothing more than to pretend it didn't exist. Everything was overgrown, most of the headstones were broken and the few that weren't were so badly worn as to be illegible. Barry shook his head. People ought to have more respect for their ancestors than this.

There was a single building just past the last row of graves, which Barry made his way to. This had to be the mausoleum Wesker had mentioned earlier. Magnum at the ready, he opened the door.

The inside was dimly lit with an odd orange glow, making the entire room look like Hell's boiler room. It was a single large room, shaped roughly like a giant circle, with smooth walls that were marred only by four indentions, each with a single, smooth bust. High up on the walls were a series of large, brass gears, connected to a series of chains. Suspended from the ceiling in the middle of the room was an ancient coffin, the wood cracked and the nails rusted.

Barry stepped forward, examining each bust in turn. At last he found the one for the death mask he'd taken earlier. "Here goes nothing" he said, and put the mask on the smooth stone head.

There was a click from deep within the bust as some unseen mechanism was activated, and the gears above Barry's head turned once. With a loud CLANG the coffin in the center of the room dropped down a few feet, before the mechanism stopped turning and it was once again caught in mid air, but now closer to the ground.

"Time to go" Barry said softly, exiting the mausoleum more quickly than he'd entered.

He told himself his speed had nothing to do with the noise he wasn't even sure he'd heard; the sound of something slowly waking up inside the coffin. The sound of something angry and being imprisoned. The sound of something hungry.

Barry told himself his hasty departure had nothing to do with that sound. But somehow he couldn't convince himself it was true.

He headed back into the mansion the same way he'd left, through the small door in the back of the kitchen. He stepped through it, wincing at the sound as the door slammed shut behind him, but nothing reacted to the noise, so he guessed he was alone again.

"Gettin' jumpy, Barry" he muttered to himself, as he left the kitchen, headed back to the main hall. If Jill had found one of the masks, then she'd be there.

"Lieutenant Burton?"

Barry whirled around at the noise, the Silver Serpent leveled in the direction it came from. Standing in the shadows of one hallway was a figure he couldn't make out. There was something clutched in the person's left hand, but Barry's eyes were drawn to what was in the right, one of the RPD standard issue Browning HPs.

"Step into the light" he said, a stern edge to his voice he didn't recognize. "Let me see your face."

"Sorry sir" said the voice, which sounded vaguely familiar. The person stepped forward, and resolved itself into a young man. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay" said Barry, looking the young man up and down. He didn't look like he belonged out of high school, and looked like he'd been through the wringer. Every inch of his body screamed weariness, but he still looked ready to keep going. Whatever he'd been through, he clearly hadn't given up on life just yet. "You seem somewhat familiar. I know you from somewhere. You're…?"

"Mat Dawson" he explained. "I'm with SWAT. I was only in action with you once, though. That thing with the high-speed chase turned hostage situation in Raven's Gate."

Barry nodded remembering. "That's right" he said slowly. "You're the rookie who-"

"Who fired off sixty rounds on full auto at what turned out to be a very fat garbage rat" Dawson finished, his face turning a little red. "Yeah, I had a feeling you'd remember that."

Barry smiled, remembering the look on Peyton Welles's face when he'd learned what had happened. Dawson was, in all honesty lucky to still be breathing, let alone still a cop. Peyton had looked ready to kill over the whole adventure.

But the memory was obviously bothering the kid. "It's okay" Barry said. "Everyone screws up once in a while. Why, I could tell you stories about when I was in the Air Force…" He paused, recognizing the object in Dawson's left hand. "Where did you get that?"

Dawson looked down at the mask. "This? I found it upstairs, and thought it might be important. Umbrella likes to build all sorts of weirdo puzzles into their labs, and I figured this looked like a likely key." He paused and looked up. "How much do you know? About everything that's going on here?"

Barry didn't let it show on his face, but his pulse quickened. _The kid knows what's going on _he realized. _Better than Jill, certainly. And if I screw up, he could out me._ Of its own accord, his thumb began to pull back the hammer on the Silver Serpent.

"I know a little" Barry said cautiously. "I know there are zombies loose inside this mansion, probably some in the forest as well. I know there are some seriously messed up dogs out there too, dogs that ate Joseph Frost alive in front of me. And I know that Umbrella is somehow mixed up in all this, though I'm not sure how."

Dawson squinted at him, as if sizing up the bigger man. "And how did you come by that knowledge?"

Now Barry was really panicked. _How do I explain _this _without putting Karen and the girls in danger?_ "Well," he said slowly, "some of it I figured out myself. I found some papers in one of the rooms, and they talked about some sort of…science experiment on human test subjects And-and-" He stammered, trying desperately to make the kid believe him. _Please, please, please don't make me shoot you_ he thought desperately. _I don't want to, but I will if it means I can keep my family._ "Jill" he exclaimed at last. "Jill filled me in on some of it too. She said she'd run into you earlier, and that she was worried about you."

Dawson's face changed. "You've seen Jill? Where? I'd like to have a word with her…"

"Not recently" Barry said honestly. "The last I heard from her, _you_ were locked up. I can see you've gotten out of that predicament."  
Dawson nodded. "Yeah. And I ran into Jill after that. Which means I've seen her more recently than you."

"Before or after you found that mask?"

Dawson looked down at it again. "I…got knocked out helping Jill fight this giant snake thing upstairs. When I woke up, Jill was gone, but I found this. Like I said, I thought it might come in handy, so I took it with me."

_Jesus, giant snakes!_ Barry's mind shouted. _Focus, you idiot_ he told himself. _Keep your eyes on the prize_.

"Why don't I take that off your hands" he suggested, pointing to the mask. "You can go and wait in the main hall. Jill ought to be heading back there soon. I'll keep exploring the mansion. There are still other people to account for."

Dawson thought for a moment. "Fine" he said at last. "I'll give you the mask, but I'm not going to wait around while you guys look for my friends. I can still fight, and I can help in other ways. I know what I'm doing here."

"I don't doubt it" said Barry, silently cursing Dawson's eagerness. _Why won't you be a good boy and just go away? _"But I really think you ought to head back to the main hall. You'll be safer there, and-"

"Out of the way" Dawson finished. "I get it" he continued, not getting it at all. "You think I'm still just the screw up rookie. Well, I've got news for you, sir. I've seen shit you can't even begin to believe in the past twenty-four hours." He tossed Barry the mask, then gripped the Browning in a two-handed shooter's stance. "You can keep that. Meanwhile, I'm going to go and help my friends." Without waiting for a reply, he turned and stalked away.

As he did, Barry noticed an improvised bandage on his arm. _Bite, or gunshot? _he wondered. It was too late to ask now; Dawson was already gone.

With a sigh, Barry turned and went back into the kitchen. "Back to the machine shed" he muttered to himself.

(JILL)

Jill wore her watch backwards on her wrist, where it was easy to see as she aimed her weapon. Unfortunately, it was all but impossible to read in that position when she wasn't which, meant she had to twist her neck into all sorts of unnatural positions in order to tell what time it was.

That only made her angrier when she realized she'd been waiting for Barry for fifteen minutes in the main hall, without seeing so much as a sign of him. _Damn it_ she thought irritably. _Fifteen minutes I could have been looking for Chris or the other STARS, gone forever._

With an irritated shake of her head, she headed back into the mansion, the eyeless mask still tucked into her belt. She had a feeling it was going to be a long night.


	12. Shadows

Chapter 11:

Shadows

(REBECCA)

Rebecca didn't like it, but it was becoming clear they had only one choice. She looked over at Richard, realizing he'd come to the same conclusion, but didn't want to say anything. Clearly he didn't like the idea any more than she did.

"We have to do it" she said finally. "We have to split up. It's the only way we're gonna find Chris."

"But what good does that do?" Richard replied. "Even if we find him, we'd still have to go looking for each other. We'd loose whatever time we might've gained by finding him alone."

Rebecca nodded. "But we need to find him quickly. The longer he's out there alone, the more likely it is something could happen to him."

"But the same goes for us" Richard answered. "If we're alone, we're at least twice as vulnerable, and we'd still have to go looking for each other."

"Not necessarily" Rebecca said, after thinking for a moment. "Not if we agreed to meet up back in the music room after a certain length of time."

"How long?" Richard asked, after a moment. Clearly he still wasn't happy, but knew he wasn't going to be able to talk her out of it.

"Say, an hour?"

"Too long."

"Okay" said Rebecca irritably. "Thirty minutes."

"Fine" said Richard. He paused, digging something out of his front pocket. "Here, take this" he said, handing Rebecca the shield key.

"Why are you giving me this?" she asked.

Richard shrugged. "I dunno. Just a feeling that you'll need it more than me."

Rebecca slid the key into one of her vest pockets. When she did so, her fingers brushed across the photograph she'd taken from the _Ecliptic Express_. A look must've passed over her face, because Richard sent her a concerned look.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

Rebecca nodded. "Yeah. Just…thinking about something I'm going to have to do after we get out of this." There was no name on the back of the photo, but Rebecca figured she wouldn't have any trouble finding out the conductor's name. Then she could find his family and apologize for robbing them of their husband and father.

"Okay" she said, straightening her face. "I'll go that way," she pointed down the hall in one direction, "and you can go the other way. We meet back in the music room in half an hour."

Richard nodded. "Sounds good. See you in a little while."

_Later…_

Rebecca found some strange things as she wondered the mansion, looking for her wayward fellow officer.

She found a pair of dead dogs, one with several knife wounds on its body, while the other had three bullet wounds, the last a clean shot through its eye. She found a lonely box of shotgun shells, which she stuffed in a pocket, planning to hand them over to Richard when she saw him again. She found various scraps of paper left over by the Umbrella researchers and staff that had once lived here; although none of it was as incriminating as the diary she'd taken from Marcus's study at the Management Training Center, she took them nonetheless.

The most bizarre (and frightening) thing she saw was the gaping hole in one wall, up on the second floor, where something had apparently leapt down to the courtyard below. Peering out over the edge, Rebecca thought she saw a large, dark shape shambling along below her, and could have sworn she heard the faint rattle of chains. She left in a hurry, before she managed to scare herself more than she already was…or before whatever had made the hole came back.

When she found the zombies, it was almost a relief. There were two of them, each with a neat hole through the forehead, and a pair of 9mm shell casings. That didn't necessarily mean she was one Chris's trail, but it was a good sign.

Rebecca found she could follow the trail of deceased undead. Most had been killed with a handgun, although she found one whose head had been twisted completely around, and another had a short knife impaled on its forehead. If she wasn't following Chris, she was following someone coldly competent.

Finally she came around a corner and found a pair of large, wooden double doors. The trail ended here, meaning Chris (_or whoever it is I've been following_ Rebecca thought) had to be on the other side. Drawing her Samurai Edge just to be safe, and squaring her shoulders, Rebecca stepped forward and pushed the doors open.

The room was large, with big marble floor tiles. Some of those tiles were raised, creating short trenches, the object apparently being to guide the large suits of armor mounted on pedestals into a specific configuration. Rebecca remembered the puzzle in Marcus's study that had gained them the diary; it had involved a chessboard, but the idea was the same.

Rebecca took all of it in in a few seconds. Because standing in the center of the room was an unfamiliar man, one hand stretched out to take a mask from a pillar that had apparently dropped down from the ceiling. Rebecca idly noticed the mask looked like a normal face, except that it was missing its mouth.

Then she realized the man was wearing a STARS uniform, and she called out to him. "Chris?"

The figure tensed, and Rebecca realized her mistake. Clearly this wasn't Chris, this was someone else. Someone who clearly didn't want to be disturbed.

The figure pulled a handgun from a hip holster. It looked like a Samurai Edge, except it had a long, black, cylinder attached to the barrel. Without fully turning to face her, the figure leveled the weapon.

Rebecca's training kicked in and she threw herself flat, even as she noticed the stranger wasn't aiming his weapon at her, but up at the ceiling.

Rebecca saw rather than heard the weapon fire, had enough time to realize the device attached to the barrel was a silencer, and then everything went dark as the stranger shot out the lights.

After a moment of discombobulation, Rebecca managed to activate her weapon's flashlight. She jerked it frantically about the room, as the sound of running feet got closer and closer.

"RPD!" she shouted. "Freeze!"

The stranger ignored her warning. Suddenly the Samurai Edge was jerked from her grasp and hurled across the room. An open hand slapped her across the face, and she staggered backwards, hitting the wall and sliding to the floor. She tasted blood in her mouth.

She heard the door swing open and turned just in time to see someone's back as they fled the room. Sparing a minute to find the handgun, Rebecca followed…only to find the stranger had locked the door behind him.

_Great_ she thought. _Locked up, and no one knows where I am._ She shrugged mentally. It could be worse. _At least there aren't any monsters._

That was when she heard a soft hissing, and smelled a faint, bitter odor in the air.

_Gas._

(CHRIS)

Chris only encountered one zombie on his trek, a single decaying soul so far gone he was only barely recognizable as a human being.

The creature staggered forward, mouth open, arms stretched out to grab him. Without even breaking stride Chris pulled out his knife and jabbed it into the zombie's eye, then quickly pulled it back out. With a soft groan, the dead man sank back to the floor and was still.

Aside from that unfortunate individual, there was no sign of any recent habitation in this part of the mansion. The entire place looked old and neglected, but this area even more so.

That all changed when he headed down a flight of stairs and found a large, metal door hanging partially open, light spilling out from the other side.

"Huh" he said, stepping inside for a look. "I wonder this is."

The hallway he found himself in was obviously a more recent addition. It was what Chris imagined the interior of a submarine looked like, albeit on a larger scale.

The walls were a dull grey and lined with pipes, some of which gurgled with fluid. There were various gauges and valves at random increments, often with words like EMERGENCY SHUT OFF or PRESSURE GAUGE. In the distance, Chris was sure he heard the faint sound of water, like a large swimming pool.

Most of the doors he found were locked, the valves used to open them removed, as if they had been sealed from the outside. One had water leaking out from underneath it, and when Chris bent down to examine it, he heard something slam itself against the other side. Something big.

The last door he came to still had the large red wheel needed to open it. OBSERVATION was printed just above that in large red letters. Chris had no idea what was being observed, but he guessed it was worth a shot.

The door swung open with a loud groan and Chris stepped inside, taking a quick look around.

There were several shelves of books in one corner, with titles such as _Ancient Sea Creatures_, _Monsters of the Deep_, and _Anatomy of a Killer: Great White Sharks_. In another corner was a computer, but judging by the fire axe sticking out of the tower, it wasn't going to be of any use anytime soon. Toward the back of the room was a rust colored ladder, leading up to the floor above, Chris assumed.

But his eyes were drawn back to the wall in front of him, because it wasn't a wall at all, but the viewing window for the largest (and dirtiest) aquarium he'd ever seen.

The glass was smudged and filthy, which forced Chris to put his face up against it in order to see what was inside. Even then, he couldn't see much: a few small shapes drifting on the other end, a large black object at the center of the room, and-

"Oh God!" Chris exclaimed, jumping back from the glass as a severed human hand drifted past, leaving a thin stream of blood in the water as it made its way to the surface.

A second later, a huge, grey colored shape the size of a van swam up the glass, after the hand, and Chris took another step back.

"Time to go" he said softly, making his way back to the door…only to find it closed, and sealed tightly, the wheel needed to open it from his side missing. "Shit" he muttered. "Guess I'll have to try the ladder."

He turned back around…and stopped.

Stationary in front of the glass was the largest shark he'd ever seen, its mouth open in the shark's parody of a grin. He remembered a cartoon his little cousins liked to watch, something about dinosaurs living in a big valley. "Sharp Tooth" he said softly, remembering the main nemesis of one movie. "Sharp Tooth that swims."

The shark swam back a little way, and Chris dared to hope it had gotten tired of watching him.

Then, with all the inherent force of the proverbial van driving at full speed, the shark returned, slamming itself into the glass of the aquarium. A spider web of cracks began to spread across the surface, a small waterfall forming.

"Oh _shit_" Chris said again, watching in horror as the shark struck again.


	13. Evil Awakes

Chapter 12:

Evil Awakes

(MAT)

There was a makeshift barricade in front of a pair of large double doors: two desks and a chair had been wedged in place. Mat could hear a faint pounding from the other side, but kept his distance.

_The staff must've locked some infected inside_ he thought. _No sense in opening the door and letting them out_. He shook his head and walked on.

He took a short staircase, then paused in a doorway. He needed to check his remaining ammunition before he pressed on.

The magazine in his Browning still had eight of its original thirteen rounds. He also had two more full mags, giving him almost three dozen rounds for the handgun. He still had three full magazines for the P90, the bullets he'd liberated from the Hive, but he didn't want to use the SMG unless he absolutely had to. He had a few shells left over from the ruined Benelli (_bet that's coming out of my pay_ he thought glumly), which he decided to hold onto in case he ran into a shotgun. Finally, he still had Captain Enrico's Colt .45, along with four bullets for the magnum, which he intended to save for a rainy day. The heavy .45's were wasted on zombies; he wanted to hoard them for something bigger.

Mat zipped the various pockets on his pants closed, slung the P90 across his back, then made sure the Colt was safetied before tucking it into his waistband. Then he moved on.

He checked two rooms on his floor, finding nothing of interest, aside from a bizarre collection of multi-colored potted plants in what appeared to have been a bedroom. The herbs gave off a strange aroma, and when Mat examined one he found a label explaining it was intended for some sort of holistic medical treatment. _Heartening_ he thought. _The pharmaceutical company uses hippy medicine. Great._

He left that room, shit the door, and took another one at the end of the hall, only to find himself at the junction of another hall, this one much shorter and ending in a junction. About ten feet away was another set of stairs.

Mat headed forward, then had to stop just before he fell through a large hole in the floorboards. He heard an angry hiss from below and looked down to see a zombie, lying broken among the wreckage, its arms and legs twisted in all sorts of unnatural angles.

"Guess I won't be going that way" Mat said softly, stepping over the hole and heading down the hall, past the stairs.

He took another door, only to find himself in yet another of the mansion's identical halls, this one with lined on one side with chests of drawers, the nearest of which had one of the green plants he'd seen earlier sitting on top of it. _Most pathetic houseplant I've ever seen_.

Mat was headed down this hallway when he heard a soft thump from a little ways ahead, around a blind corner. Thinking it might be one of his fellow police officers, he hurried forward, only to find another stairway, this one much longer, with a rectangular landing separating two separate flights of steps. Then he heard the thump again, coming from the lower of the two. It sounded like a slow, deliberate footstep, and Mat immediately recognized it.

"Great" he muttered. "More nightmares."

He heard a sharp intake of breath from below, and momentarily questioned his assumption. Then he saw the thing that was quickly, albeit unsteadily making its way up the stairs, and knew he'd been right the first time.

"Oh God" he said softly. "Forest."

The last time he'd seen Forest Speyer, the STARS officer had held a gun on Mat, spouting off all sorts of paranoid drivel before shooting him in the arm. Mat had then watched in horror as Forest was pecked to death by a whole flock of infected crows.

When Mat had left Forest, he hadn't thought there was enough left to reanimate. Apparently he knew less about the T-virus than he thought, because here his former comrade was, battered, broken, and bloodied but very much a functioning zombie.

Mat took a deep breath and held it in, leveling the Browning at Forest's head. He didn't want to waste any more ammo than he had to, but he knew he couldn't leave the former cop up and wandering around, either.

Then Forest was climbing up the second flight of stairs, the one facing Mat, and he got a good look at what was left of the dead man. His face was barely recognizable, his jacket and uniform torn and stained black with blood, making it look as if Forest had been dropped in a filthy lake for a few weeks. Still, the twin bandoliers of grenades Forest had strapped to himself in his paranoia just before he died were still intact, and Mat had to hold his fire. If he missed, or if his bullet ricocheted, he'd cook off enough explosives to blow himself and half the mansion to the moon.

"Great" he said irritably, stepping back. "Now what?"

Forest stepped up onto the same level as Mat, then lurched forward, much faster than a normal zombie. _Just gets better and better_ he thought glumly.

He aimed the Browning at Forest's legs, his index finger tensing on the trigger, before he noticed the odd lumps in Forest's pockets, and the small round balls on his legs. _That lunatic!_ _He's put grenades in his _pants_ for crying out loud!_

Mat took a step back, then another, unsure what to do. He needed to neutralize Forest; if one of the STARS found him, not realizing what their former teammate had done to himself, they'd likely kill everyone still inside the mansion. Mat lost count well past thirty grenades just on Forest's bandolier; even if some of them were flash bangs or tear gas, he still seemed to have taken most of the RPD's explosive arsenal and strapped it to his chest.

"Forest, my man" Mat said nervously. "You are one deadly zombie, and you have my respect. Now, if you'll excuse me-" he began, looking back over his shoulder at the door he'd come in through. Then, all of a sudden, he found himself on the floor, his legs tangled together. Somehow, he'd managed to trip over his own feet. And Forest was still closing, less than five feet away.

Mat scrambled to his feet, but it was too late. With a vicious growl, Forest lunged forward, his mouth open wide. Mat grabbed him by the shoulders, holding back his snapping jaws, but Forest was a much bigger man, and simply leaned forward, forcing him back to the ground.

Mat managed to get his forearm under Forest's chin, keeping him just above his throat, but his gunshot wound was burning, and he knew he wouldn't be able to hold on forever. He'd slip, then Forest would take a chunk out of his neck, and Mat would bleed to death while Forest began to eat him.

"Not gonna happen" he grunted, reaching up and putting a hand on the side of Forest's head. Slowly, painfully, he began to force it to the side.

Forest fought the entire time, and Mat wasn't sure he would be strong enough, but he didn't have many other options.

With a last, quick twist using both hands, he gave Forest's neck a sharp jerk.

The effect was instantaneous. With a loud, audible crack Forest went limp and collapsed against Mat, his mouth open, drool puddling underneath him, his eyes unfocused and crossed, staring at nothing.

With a grunt of disgust Mat heaved the body off him and shoved it aside, then stood up and looked down at himself. He was covered in the STARS officer's blood, making his dark blue RPD uniform look like something a mechanic would wear.

"Of course, he said, looking down at Forest, "it could be worse."

(BARRY)

Barry had placed the second mask in the appropriate slot, causing the casket to drop down another level, that much closer to the ground. Worse, there was definitely something inside. He was sure of it.

The bodies of the zombies he'd killed earlier were gone, Barry noticed as he made his way back along the path to the mansion. He shivered. Hopefully, something had come along and eaten them; the only alternative was that headshots were no longer enough to bring the undead back to the grave.

He remembered the rhyme Wesker had shown him without having to consult the paper he'd been given. In addition to four pictures of the masks, it bore a cryptic message.

_The four masks,_

_a mask that speaks no evil..._

_a mask that smells no evil..._

_a mask that sees no evil..._

_a mask that cannot speak, smell or see evil..._

_When all four fall into place, evil will awaken._

Barry shuddered, remembering the moving casket. If evil was going to awaken, he wanted to have the rocket launcher he'd brought along with helicopter. Brad had insisted the thing was worthless, but Barry somehow knew it would come in handy.

He shook his head. If it weren't for Brad being a pansy, they wouldn't be in this situation. They could have all gotten away, back to the RPD building, and…

"No" Barry said softly. "What's done is done. I just have to trust things will work out for the best." By the time Brad took off, Joseph, Alpha team's only casualty, was already dead. Also, he and Jill had both encountered Mat Dawson, one of the officers they were sent in to locate. Who knew if he would have still been alive without encountering the two STARS? For all Barry knew, their presence, the zombies they put down, had potentially prolonged the lives of Dawson and STARS Bravo team.

Barry had grown up in church, but hadn't been in ages. He resolved to go as soon as he got back to Raccoon City. If tonight didn't convince him of the reality of divine powers at work, nothing ever would.

Barry wandered the mansion without much of a purpose. He needed to track Jill down, and he still had two masks to find, but he had no idea where to look.

He rounded a corner, and found what looked like a small barricade. Someone had clearly gone to a lot of trouble to keep someone (_or some_thinghis mind added uncomfortably) from getting out.

"Which means I should probably give it a look" he said to himself. If something nasty was locked inside, it would get to meet the Silver Serpent. And one of the masks, or something equally useful, might be inside.

Barry slid one of the chairs out of the way, then moved one of the desks, only to have it make an obscenely loud grating noise on the wooden floor. From the other side of the doors, he heard a faint pounding noise. _Great. Something's eager to meet me ._For what felt like the hundredth time, he regretted ditching Forest's grenade launcher. He'd tried hauling it around, but had eventually given up. The thing was just too damn heavy.

Barry moved the other desk out of the way, then flicked the tab underneath the doorknob, unlocking it. Quickly he jerked the door open, expecting some horrible beast to spring out after him.

Instead, a young girl fell forward, hitting the floor with a dull thud, gasping for breath.

"Oh shit!" Barry exclaimed, hastily holstering his revolver and pulling the girl the rest of the way out of the room. As he did so, he caught a whiff of something foul, like bad eggs. _Poison gas? What else is there in this nightmare?_

The girl was shuddering, her whole body twitching as she tried to suck air into her lungs. Barry hoped she wasn't permanently injured; he'd read about what poison gas did to the lungs, and even if it didn't kill someone outright, it would slowly destroy their lungs, making every breath of air a curse. That was no way to live for anyone, especially not someone so young.

He rolled the girl onto her back, unsure what else to do. Her eyes were shut tightly, her face slightly blue, her chest heaving as she desperately tried to inhale. Her whole body convulsed, and he grabbed her shoulders, trying to hold her still.

"Hello?" he called out. "Can you hear me? My name is Barry Burton, I'm with the police. You're safe now."

The girl relaxed, a little. She was still fighting for breath, though, but her eyes slowly opened. "Rebecca" she wheezed. "STARS."

_This is the rookie_ Barry realized. She was young, too, at least as young as Dawson, maybe even younger. Joseph had been young too. It irritated Barry. Kids shouldn't have to go through this kind of shit. No one should, but least of all someone so young…

"Are you okay?" he asked. "What happened?"

Rebecca was still having some trouble catching her breath. Still, she tried to answer him, having to stop to inhale after every painful word. She pointed weakly at the room she'd been rescued from. "Imposter. STARS. Locked me in" (she took a long breath after that sentence) "Took something. Mask. Ran away. Left me to die."

_Someone pretending to be STARS? Must be Wesker_ Barry realized. But, if he was willing to kill Rebecca, he'd be willing to kill anyone. It made Barry wonder as to what his real game was. Clearly he wasn't here to rescue Bravo team, so what was he after? _More than he's told me_ Barry decided. And now he had one of the masks. If only Rebecca knew which one. _But she's in no shape to interrogate any further._

"Are you okay?" he asked again, concerned. He had no idea what Umbrella had loaded into their trap, but if Rebecca had inhaled even a little bit, it could damage her lungs forever.

But she nodded, even as she still panted for breath. "Yeah. Just. Asthma. Haven't. Had. An. Attack. Since. I. Was. A. Kid. Stress. Must've. Aggravated. It." She took a slower, deeper breath. "I should be. Okay. In a. Little while."

"Okay" said Barry, standing up. He offered Rebecca his hand. "Come with me. I'm gonna take you someplace safe." Rebecca took his hand and stood, but gave him an irritated look and started to protest. Barry shook his head. "No buts. You're in no condition to fight right now. Once you catch your breath, you'll be better, but for now I want you to stay put someplace." When Rebecca looked ready to argue again, even in her breathless state, Barry hardened his voice. "And, if you don't like it, you can consider it an order. And there will be severe consequences if you disobey it. Are we clear?"

The only clear thing was that Rebecca was unhappy with him. Nevertheless, she nodded. "Yes. Sir."

"Good" he said, helping her along. "Now, let's go find someplace for you to lay low for a while."

They ended up settling on a small room underneath a flight of stairs. It was a large, mostly empty room, save for a bookcase in one corner, and a cabinet in another.

"Wait here until either I or another one of the STARS comes back" said Barry. Forestalling any further protests, he explained, "It'll make it easier for us to find you than if we have to search the entire mansion. You want to go home, right?" He watched Rebecca nod eagerly. "Then make it easy for us to come get you. Take care." On that note, he turned and left the room, heading back into the mansion.

_Wesker is dangerous. He almost killed that poor girl without hesitation, and he'll do the same to anyone else who gets in his way._ Barry smiled grimly, spinning the cylinder on the Silver Serpent. _Well, if he comes after me, I imagine he'll find me a harder mark than some helpless teenage girl._

(JILL)

Jill made her way back across the upper floor of the main hall, growing more irritated by the second. _Where _is_ Barry?_ She was getting tired of waiting. He'd better have a good explanation for wherever he-

The door at the far end of the upper balcony opened and Barry stepped out, clearly lost in thought.

"There you are!" Jill shouted, letting some of her irritation come through in her voice. She saw Barry start, and smiled in satisfaction.

"Sorry Jill" he said, walking toward her. "I've been looking for you all over-"

"Clearly not, or you would've found me" Jill cut him off. "I've been in here off and on for the past forty-five minutes, and haven't seen you."

Barry sighed. "I'm sorry Jill. I just got…preoccupied." He looked down at Jill's belt. "Oh good, I see you've found one of the masks. I've already gotten two of them taken where they need to be. C'mon, I'll show you." Without waiting for a response, he turned and started down the stairs.

Jill rolled her eyes, but followed. There was definitely something up with her teammate, but it was something she'd have to deal with later. Right now, she was about to be one step closer to ensuring there _was_ a later.

They headed downstairs, through a spacious kitchen, and into the cool night air. Jill could hear things moving around in the trees outside the mansion grounds, and inside the undergrowth around the path. If any of the noises bothered Barry, he didn't show it, moving ahead toward a large building with a single minded determination that she found a little unsettling.

Jill stepped into the mausoleum, taking it all in at a glance. "This place is seriously fucked up" she said to no one in particular.

Barry nodded. "Tell me about." He pointed to a series of alcoves in the otherwise smooth walls. "The masks belong on those. Each face matches up with a specific mask, so…"

"I get it" said Jill, stepping forward. Then she paused. "Barry, I thought you said you'd only found two masks."  
He nodded. "That's right. The mask that smells no evil, and one that cannot see, smell, or speak it. Why?"

"Because there are three here" Jill replied, pointing to each one. In addition to the two Barry had mentioned, there was also a mask with no mouth.

"The mask that can speak no evil" Barry said softly. He muttered something else, something Jill didn't catch.

"What was that?"

"Nothing" Barry said with a shake of his head. "It must've already been here when I got here. Odd. I didn't notice it before." He grinned at Jill apologetically. "Sorry. I'm having a hard time focusing."

"Uh-huh" said Jill, not buying it, but not willing to push things further. She stepped forward and set the mask on the only remaining bust.

There was groan from the gears above their heads. Then, the casket hanging suspended from the ceiling dropped unceremoniously to the floor.

"Get ready" Barry said, drawing his revolver. Jill started to ask what the matter was, only to have her unasked question answered when the casket sprang open on its own.

Inside was the oldest, most emaciated corpse she had ever seen. It was ancient and ill preserved and obviously had been dead for a long time, although its skin had a faint reddish tinge to it. And, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, the old corpse stood up and leapt out of the casket, landing easily on its boney feet, turning its still perfectly intact, eerily glowing eyes toward herself and Barry.

"Oh shit" she heard her teammate mutter, and then the thing charged.

Jill threw herself to the side, rolling over and pulling the medicine gun off her back. It was the heaviest weapon she was carrying at the moment, and she had a feeling she might need it.

Barry fired at the creature, two rounds from his magnum aimed directly at the thing's head She saw them connect, but they didn't have any visible effect.

"Damn!" Barry exclaimed, as he dodged the disturbingly spry zombie's arms. "I should've held on to Forest's grenade launcher!"

Jill had no idea what he was talking about, but didn't worry about it, instead aiming the shotgun at the monster's legs and pulling the trigger. The solid leg slug, unlike the .44 magnum rounds, was more than enough to punch through the dead thing's flesh. With an inhuman howl, it collapsed and began to thrash about.

Barry stepped forward, his revolver held up and ready. "You have the right to remain dead" he said irritably, aiming his magnum at the creature's glowing eyes. "Anything you say cannot and will not be admissible in a court of law, because you are dead. Do you understand these rights?"

The zombie continued to thrash about, oblivious to Barry's taunts.

"C'mon, Barry!" Jill shouted. "Just put the damn thing out its misery!"

Barry ignored her. "Do you waive those rights?" Again, no answer. "Fair enough" he said, then pulled the trigger. The .44 round tore through the creature's skull, splattering zombie gray matter on the cold, stone floor.

Seemingly by magic, a hidden door slid open in the back wall, between two of the newly masked busts.

"I guess that's where we go next" said Barry calmly, pointing toward the new door. Without waiting for her response, he headed through, back into the night.

With a reluctant sigh, Jill followed. But first, she fired a solid lead slug through the red zombie's head, then slid two new rounds into the medicine gun. Just in case.


	14. Neptune

Chapter 13:

Neptune

(REBECCA)

Her eyes were still unfocused, and her lungs still burned, leaving Rebecca forced to accept that the other STARS officer had been right. She was simply in no condition to be up roaming the halls. Something would come along and put an end to her in no time flat, and then she'd be no use to her teammates.

She shrugged. If she couldn't help her team out in the mansion, at least she could get ready to help them from here.

First, Rebecca took inventory of her medical supplies. She still had a full can of the strange first aid spray she'd used on Richard, plus about half of another, as well as some bandages, gauze, and disinfectant, plus a sewing kit she hoped she didn't need. Field stitching had been her least favorite part of the combat medic training course she'd had to take before joining the RPD.

Next she checked her weapon. The Samurai Edge she'd been issued was little different from the standard Beretta 92/M9 it had begun life as, but the Kendo brothers who had made it had used a lighter weight grip, making the entire weapon much lighter, if heavier toward the barrel than it should have been. Still, she appreciated the thoughtfulness from two men she'd never met.

She still had two full magazines for the handgun, as well as some loose rounds she'd picked up on her previous night's adventures, and two MP5 magazines she could strip down if she needed to. When next she saw them, she intended to share her 9mm bullets with Richard and Chris. There was no reason for her to have over a hundred backup rounds, especially when she wasn't a combat expert like the other two. It was pointless for her to have so much ammo.

Rebecca thought about field stripping the Samurai Edge, just to be sure it was in working order, but decided not to. She wasn't confident in her ability to quickly reassemble the handgun, and if she needed it in a hurry, she'd rather be able to throw lead and not pieces of her gun at any monsters bent on ending her life prematurely.

At last, she decided she only had one other thing to do. Sitting down against one wall, she pulled the small leather bound journal out of her vest. She only managed to get a brief look at it inside Marcus's study, and ever since then she'd been on the run. But she needed to read through it and locate some of the passages she'd already seen, the entries that had detailed Marcus and Umbrella's use of human test subjects as they perfected the T-virus. That alone would be enough to put the company in hot water, never mind the connection between Umbrella and the Arklay Forest murders.

Rebecca settled down to read. She still couldn't see very clearly, but she knew her vision would clear up quickly. Besides, there was no point in just sitting around waiting when she could be doing something useful.

(RICHARD)

The sound of water drew Richard like a magnet. He knew the noises one was supposed to expect inside a mansion, and knew the sound of water lapping against walls, was not one of them, unless the mansion had an indoor swimming pool. He rather doubted it.

He spun the wheel on a door, swinging it open and stepping out into an extremely shallow puddle of water.

He was on a narrow catwalk, made out of metal grating. Water willed the entire room, lapping around the metal, which was beginning to rust. The catwalks formed the spokes of a wheel, like the board for the awful trivia game Rachel always wanted to play. On the far wall, written in large capitol letters, were the words AQUA RING.

_Huh_ he thought. _So there _is _an indoor pool. Well, I hope no one gets mad that I showed up uninvited, but I-_

"Richard!" His head jerked up when he heard someone shout his name, and it took him a moment to realize who was talking to him.

"Chris!" he shouted back. "How are ya-"

"Richard, watch out!"

Richard heard water rushing behind him. He spun around to see an enormous wave heading straight for him. "What the hell?" he muttered, leveling the shotgun in his hands.

Then he saw what was coming toward him, and Richard felt his blood run cold. It was the largest shark he'd ever seen, a shark big enough to give the one from _Jaws_ nightmares. Its mouth was open wide, and clearly it had only one thing on its mind.

"Oh shit" Richard said softly, bringing the shotgun up and opening fire. He watched his shot scatter across the water, watched as the individual pellets tore small holes in the monster's hide.

Still, it was too little, too late.

The last thing Richard saw in this life was the gaping maw of the shark swelling up before him; the last thing he heard was Chris shouting his name. Then suddenly his vision was black. He felt a brief, sharp pain…

Then nothing more.

(CHRIS)

"Richard!" he shouted, knowing even as he did so that his friend was beyond ever hearing him again. He watched as the monster shark swallowed the STARS officer whole, leaving a small bloody film on the water as it swam away, apparently content with its meal.

"Not this time, you son of a bitch" Chris muttered grimly. He was going to kill this bastard, and all its little buddies.

There was a large, important looking piece of machinery a few feet away from him. Apparently it measured the levels of…something in the water, to make sure it was safe for Umbrella's murderous little pets.

_These bastards made these things to kill _people_, fed _people_, probably their own luckless employees to the things, and then build this damn room for them like they're exhibits at an aquarium._ Chris gritted his teeth in anger. He would deal with the monster sharks first, and then he'd settle with Umbrella. He owed it to Richard, and to Joseph and Kenneth and Kevin and everyone else the pharmaceutical company had murdered.

"But first…" Chris gave the machine in front of him a solid kick…then two more, before it finally groaned and fell into the water. The results were immediate. Sparks flew from the box, which exploded, and the monstrous shark (_sharks_ Chris amended, realizing there were more than one) let a cry of immeasurable agony.

Still, none of the fish broke the surface of the water.

"Tough bastards, are you? Well, I'm not a push over myself." There was a valve at the center of the Aqua Ring. If Chris hadn't already suspected its use, the large EMERGENCY DRAIN sign would've been a great indication.

He drew the Samurai Edge, looked down the iron sights, and fired. After seeing what had happened to poor Richard, he knew it was too dangerous to try and walk across the catwalks.

Both of Chris's shots struck the valve. With a groan it shot forward, its pressure released. He heard a deeper groan from below, then a sound of rushing water as the drainage pipes went to work.

It didn't take long to drain the aqua ring. Once he was convinced it was safe, Chris leapt over the side of the catwalk, dropping the rough ten feet to the bottom of the tank. Drawing the handgun, he made his way toward the nearest of what he now saw were three extremely large sharks.

He placed his handgun against the helpless animal's skull and pulled the trigger twice, stilling its spasms, then moved on to the next and killed it as well.

The final shark, though, was more of a challenge. It was much larger and still more in control of its movements, trying to snap at Chris with its bloodied jaws.

At last, Chris decided to leave it as it was; choosing to let it suffocate rather than the quick death he'd given the other two. He couldn't prove it, but he was somehow _sure_ this was the one that had killed Richard. It would get no mercy from him.

His entire expedition to the Aqua Ring had been futile. There was nothing of use here, only more Umbrella nightmares.

Chris climbed a ladder, then headed back toward the one leading down into observation room, before changing his mind. He had no idea where the door Richard had used led, while the observation room was surely flooded after the shark had broken through the glass. He'd only barely managed to scramble up the ladder before he drowned; even now, he had no desire to return to the room.

Chris stopped on the catwalk and picked up the weapon lying there. Somehow, Richard's shotgun had survived his sudden death. Chris checked the chamber, making sure the weapon was loaded, then holstered his Samurai Edge. He intended to put an end to many an Umbrella with his dead comrade's weapon.

It wouldn't bring Richard back, and it didn't make Chris feel any better about the tragic waste of life, but…_It's a start_ he thought, leaving the Aqua Ring.


	15. Into the Night

Chapter 14:

Into the Night

(JILL)

They left through the back door of the mausoleum/machine shed, stepping back again into the cool night air. Jill felt as if something were missing, but it took her a moment to realize that the sounds coming from the forest had stopped. There was no baying from the infected dogs outside the mansion walls. In fact, there was no sound at all, as if the entire world had suddenly gone mute.

Barry caught her eye and nodded. "I know" he said simply, before pointing ahead of them. "C'mon, let's get a move on." Without waiting for her to reply, he stepped into the rubble strewn courtyard before them, Silver Serpent held high and ready. Jill followed, stepping carefully around the broken stones that made walking a hazard.

Something small and slithery darted out of a small pile of rubble and Jill started, despite herself.

"You okay?" Barry asked, turning to look at her.

She nodded, feeling embarrassed. "Yeah. Stupid snake just scared me, nothing more."

"Well, don't be too careful. With the way tonight's going, for all we know Umbrella turned every damn wild animal out here into some sort of nasty monster. It'll pay to keep our guard up."

Jill nodded in agreement, then stopped. "Barry" she said, her eyes narrowing slightly. "I don't remember mentioning Umbrella to you. How do you know they're involved?"

"I read it somewhere" Barry replied, his voice calm. "I found a memorandum in one of the rooms I was exploring, and it mentioned Umbrella and bioweapons." His answer made logical sense, and under other circumstances Jill would've bought it.

But there had been a slight, almost imperceptible pause when Barry had spoken. And she'd seen his face go tight and pale, like he was hiding something…and afraid he'd just been caught. And these were, if anything, _not_ normal circumstances. She'd be keeping an eye on her teammate.

They headed into a courtyard of grey stone, the cobbles clicking softly beneath their boots. Jill could hear more snakes slithering everywhere, all around them, but did her best to pretend they weren't there. She didn't know for certain they were anything more than run of the mill irritating, and so she wasn't going to worry about them. She had enough things to concern herself with without actively borrowing trouble.

Concerns, such as the rapidly approaching _click-click_ noise that echoed louder and louder in the empty courtyard. She and Barry paused, turning their backs to one another, eyes scanning for the source of the sound.

"There!" Barry shouted, and Jill spun to see a dog, one of the ferocious, disgusting monsters that had hunted them since they'd arrived in the forest as it bounded toward them, almost eager.

Jill felt her insides grow cold. A monster like this had eaten Joseph right in front of her. A monster like this… Mat's words echoed in her head. _I couldn't stop the dogs from going after him_. Something like this abomination had killed Edward.

The infected dog's head exploded in a wash of red blood and shattered skull. Without making a sound, it crumpled to the ground, its bodily fluids leaking onto the stones.

Barry calmly reloaded the Silver Serpent, then looked over at Jill. "You okay? You kind of…froze there for a minute. Something wrong?"

Jill thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. When I met up with Mat earlier, he told me…He told me…" She paused, unable to form the words, the ones she'd been running from for most of the night. "He told me Edward's dead!"

Barry stared at her for a moment, his eyes wide, unsure of what to do. Then, after a moment, he put his hand on her shoulder. "Jill, I am so sorry" he said, the look on his face quite clearly saying he genuinely meant the words, but also knew they wouldn't be enough, but had no idea what else he could do.

Jill inhaled sharply. Her face felt wet and she realized she'd been crying, two streams running down her cheeks. She brushed them away with the back of her hand, then looked over at Barry. "Thanks" she said, sounding stronger than she felt. "But there will be time to mourn Edward later. Now, we've got a job to do."

"Are you sure?" Barry asked. " I can't imagine what this must-"

"I'm fine!" Jill snapped, surprising herself. Then she took a deep breath. "I'm sorry Barry. It's just…one of those things." Another deep breath to calm herself. "Edward and I knew the risks inherent in this job. Granted, I don't think either of us expected some of the things that have gone on tonight, but…we knew there was the possibility one of us might not come back one day. I think that's what I liked about being with him. Both of us lived a dangerous life, and we could enjoy each other while we had each other, but we both knew in the end it wouldn't last." She paused and took another deep breath. "It never lasts."

Barry's hand was still on her shoulder, and he gave it a squeeze. "You don't know that for sure, kiddo. You never know how things will turn out." He removed his hand, at the same time holstering his revolver and pulling out his other magnum, a custom Samurai Edge with burst fire capability and loaded with .40 Smith and Wesson. "But like you said, we've got work to do. The night's not over yet, though God I wish it were." He fished something out of the dark red vest he usually wore, the one that made him look like some sort of misbegotten hunter. "I found this earlier, and thought you'd make better use of it than me."

Jill gratefully excepted the magazine, placing it in a pocket with her others. "Where'd you find it?" she asked.

"If you can believe it, in the kitchen" Barry replied. "I don't know how it got there, but I didn't think you'd be likely to look a gift horse in the mouth, either." He gestured behind them. "Now, shall we?"

They headed deeper into the courtyard, only to come to a crossroads. One fork would take them deeper into the labyrinth of stone they'd been exploring, while the other…

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Jill exclaimed, looking up at the building looming before them. "_Another_ mansion?"

Barry shook his head. "No, I don't think this is the same. It looks more like some sort of servant's residence or something. You know, where so the blue bloods who owned the main house could have their staff at an arm's length. Feel all superior without having to do anything for themselves."

Jill nodded. "Okay, but which way should we go?" She pointed to the left, where the maze snaked steadily downward. "I'm tempted to go that way. I'm tired of being inside, if you know what I mean?"

"I understand" said Barry, shaking his head. "But it could be worth our while to go the other way and explore the residence. I-I have a feeling it might be beneficial to us."

Jill eyed him suspiciously, all her distrust suddenly welling back up. _Something funny's going on here_ she thought, then cursed herself for it. _He was just so kind to you, and you think he's up to something. Christ, if you can't trust _Barry, _who can you trust?_ "Okay" she said, nodding. "Let's go."

(MAT)

He stared down at the broken body on the floor, his whole body heaving. He'd been about to leave, when suddenly the enormity of what he'd just done came crashing down on him.

_I killed him! Oh God, I killed Forest Speyer with my bare hands!_ He'd put down zombies throughout the previous thirty hours. The first man he'd shot he wasn't fully convinced had been infected with the T-virus, but he'd been dangerous nonetheless, and Mat felt no remorse for having killed him, anymore than he felt regret for any of the other people he'd shot. Sure, he wished it hadn't been necessary, but he didn't feel like he'd go back and do things differently. It had been himself or them, and he'd chosen to live.

But this…_I killed Forest Speyer. Hell, I didn't even like him. But I _killed_ him. _He shook his head, trying to clear it, briefly wondering if this was how Rebecca had felt when she shot Edward. That led him down a mental tangent about Rebecca; wondering if she was safe, if she was in the mansion, if she was still with Billy Coen, if she was even still alive. Once again, he hated himself for not having thought about her until just now. He shrugged. Worrying about Rebecca wouldn't do either of them any good. He wished he could talk to her, but he couldn't, so he'd need to work things out for himself.

He knew, morally, it shouldn't have been any easier for him to shoot a total stranger than it had been for him to kill Forest, but he also knew that was stupid. Forest, all his faults aside, had been a fellow cop, someone not so far different from Mat.

_That could have been me_ Mat thought, looking down at the broken and torn body. _Hell, why _wasn't_ that me? What makes me special? Why am I still alive, when so many other people have ended up dead? So many better men then me. How do I survive?_

He sighed. There was no point to this exercise. He was still alive; Forest wasn't, and no amount of thinking was going to ever change that. _What's done is done_ he told himself, turning to go.

"Rest in peace, Forest" he said quietly, before heading down the stairs the former STARS had climbed to come after him just a few minutes earlier. This time, the dead police officer didn't get back up.

But, long after Mat was past being able to see it, a small, slimy creature slithered out of Forest's mouth, where it had taken up residence. Cautiously, it made its way toward a crack in the wall, the fastest way to its destination. It felt the call, the call it had never expected to hear, urging it on. The call was faint, but it was there, and that was all the small bioweapon needed to worry about.

(BARRY)

The servant's residence lived up to its name…which was to say, after the mansion, it was somewhat disappointing. The residence was old, and obviously not as well cared for as the other, more grand structure. Still, there were obvious signs of recent habitation, mostly in the patterns of disturbed dust on the floor, although there was also the less subtle hint that the lights were still on.

Barry took a look around, then turned to Jill. "I think we should-"

"Split up" Jill finished with a sigh. "I figured you'd suggest that." She shrugged. "God, I hate this place. See you in twenty?"  
Barry nodded. "Sure thing."

He headed down a hallway in the opposite direction as Jill, rounded a corner, and saw someone disappear around the other side. Someone in dark clothing. _Wesker_ Barry realized. _And I wouldn't have seen him unless he wanted me to follow._ Slowly, he headed in that direction.

There was a door partially open at the end of the hall, light shinning from the other side. Barry cautiously stepped forward, then burst through the door, Samurai Edge at the ready. He glanced about quickly, but the room appeared to be empty-

Click.

Wesker smiled coldly from his position behind the door, his own handgun trained on Barry's temple. There was a long, thin black tube attached to the barrel. _A silencer_ Barry realized. _Jeez, he _did_ try to kill that kid._

"Barry, must we keep playing this game?" Wesker asked as Barry lowered his magnum slowly, keeping his eyes straight ahead. "Have you forgotten our arrangement?"

Barry shook his head, his heart rate increasing. "N-no. I understand. I know what's at stake."

Wesker nodded, lowering the Samurai Edge. "Good. Just so we're in agreement. I'd hate for anything to happen to-"

"What do you want?" Barry asked, letting some of his anger show.

Wesker looked taken aback. Barry would have thought he blinked, but for the sunglasses. "What is this, a temper?" He shrugged. "Fair enough. There's a seal I need you to find. It's in the shape of the company logo. It'll open up that gate you found downstairs in the mansion. I want you to find it."

"But you said that key was _in_ the Mausoleum, not here!"

Wesker smiled coldly. "Well Barry, I lied. You'll find I do that from time to time. Now, will you be a good boy and get it for me?"

"And then?"

Wesker smiled. "And then, we'll just about be done." He paused, then turned to Barry. "Oh, and I'll be bringing Chris here to search as well. I assume you're still keeping tabs on Jill?" Barry nodded. "Good. It is extremely important those two don't meet. Keep them separate by any means necessary. And find me that seal." He waved Barry off, clearly a dismissal.

Barry opened the door, turned, and found himself face to face with Jill. "Oh Jesus!" he exclaimed. "Jill, don't _do_ that!"

Jill smiled slightly. "Sorry. I just thought I heard-" She paused, trying to look over Barry's shoulder. "Were you talking to someone?"

_Oh shit! What do I do? She's gonna see Wesker, and then I'm gonna have to-_ "Oh, n-nothing. I was just…" he took a step back as Jill shoved the door open. "Talking to myself. Senior moment." He let out an inward sigh of relief as he looked into the empty room. Wesker was gone. _How the hell did he do that?_

"Uh-huh" said Jill suspiciously, clearly not buying it. But there was no way for her to prove anything was going on. Barry hoped there never would be. "Well, I came looking for you because I found something you need to see. C'mon, I'll show you."

Barry let her lead the way, his mind still racing. Now he had _another _errand for them to run, and Jill was getting more and more suspicious. _This is getting out of control. It has to stop. And soon._


	16. The Night Goes On

Chapter 15:

The Night Goes On

(CHRIS)

Chris swore loudly and far more passionately than he ever had before when he returned to the music room. He shouted oaths and foul words in combinations he'd never dreamt of, suggested the world should, if it hadn't already, take up most unnatural (and occasional physically impossible) habits. He came very close to smashing something before he managed to reign himself in.

Breathing heavily, he finally decided to give in to the craving he'd been fighting all night. He reached into his vest and removed the brass-plated STARS lighter, at the same time pulling a single cigarette from his back pocket. He lit up and took a deep drag, the smoke calming him. He'd gone so long without. What was it they always said in the action movies? _Worst day ever to quit smoking_.

Chris smoked the cigarette down, his head feeling light and weightless, before throwing the butt on the wooden floor and stamping it out with his boot. There was no sense in burning the entire mansion down because of his bad habits.

Calmed down significantly, Chris took another look around the room. It hadn't changed much, but _something _must've happened for them to both have left. He shook his head in disgust. _I never should have left them. I should have stayed here, and kept us all together, and then we could have-_

_ What?_ the gnawing voice inside his head asked. _If you'd all three been together, then those sharks would, likely as not, have eaten Rebecca too. As it is, she's missing. If she'd stayed with you, she'd probably be dead._

That made sense, but it still left him with a problem. Rebecca was somewhere in the mansion, and Chris had no idea where. He needed to find her, and quickly, before she stumbled across some other nightmare…

"Chris?"

He whirled around, surprised at the voice behind him He'd brought Richard's shotgun up without a second thought, the stock resting against his shoulder almost instinctively.

"I don't think that will be necessary" said the smiling man before him, and Chris immediately lowered the weapon.

"Sorry, Captain" he said sheepishly. "You startled me. It's just a…reaction, you know?"

Wesker kept smiling, shrugging at Chris's apology. "Nonsense. In fact, I'd say your reflexes do you credit. You've no idea how many times mine have prolonged my own life, and the lives of others."

Chris nodded, unsure what Wesker was talking about. The STARS captain was an outsider; he hadn't been a member of the RPD before the STARS had formed, instead he'd been drawn in much like Rebecca, albeit having been hand picked by Chief Irons to lead the two Special Tactics And Rescue Squads. None of them knew much about his life before his service with the RPD began, but judging by the way he'd handled himself in the Forest, he'd definitely seen combat before.

"It's good to see you, Captain" he said, relaxing. "I didn't know anyone else had made it out. Have you seen any of the others?"

Wesker shook his head. "No, I've been wandering around by myself, trying my hardest not to get lost in this place." He shook his head, his grin slipping as he turned his sunglasses-covered eyes back toward Chris. "This place is _enormous_! I had no idea it was this huge when I suggested we move here. Had I known, I might almost have had us take our chances in the Forest, rather than get separated in here." He paused. "Chris, if you thought the dogs were bad, then you aren't going to like this. There are-"

Chris held up a hand. "I know about the zombies, and some of the other monsters running loose through here. I ran into a couple of the Bravos, and they filled me in."

Suddenly Chris had Wesker's full attention. "You've seen members of Bravo team? Who? When? Where?"

Chris looked at his watch. "About an hour or so ago. Richard Aiken and Rebecca Chambers. They were supposed to be here, in this room, waiting for me, but I ran into Richard downstairs, in an honest-to-God swimming pool." He paused. "I watched him die right in front of me. There was nothing I could do." He shook his head and sighed. "And I don't know where Rebecca is, or why they would've split up."

Wesker put his hand on Chris's shoulder. It was a wholly unexpected act from the STARS captain; normally, Wesker was too much a force of nature to bother with such human sentiments as morale and encouragement. "It's okay, Chris. You've done a great job tonight."

Chris shook his head. "No, sir. I…I fucked up. If I had been on the ball, if I had done something different, then Richard wouldn't be dead, and I wouldn't have lost Rebecca, and-"

"And you wouldn't have found me" Wesker replied, smiling that oddly disarming smile of his. "Command is a tough responsibility, and sometimes you'll loose people. But you can't let that distract you right now. I lost poor Joseph out in the Forest not fifteen minutes after this operation began, but I can't let that get to me right now. Once we get back to Raccoon City, there will be a time to mourn for Richard, and Joseph and Rebecca and everyone else we've lost. Until then, we've got to keep our heads in the game. We aren't out of this yet." He patted Chris on the shoulder. "You've done a great job tonight, Chris. A great job. Now, I just need you to give me a little more. Just a _little_ more. Can you manage?"

Wesker's sunglasses made it hard to judge for sure, but Chris suspected the STARS captain was watching him intently, waiting to hear his answer. Chris wasn't sure he could handle leading more people he liked, more people who _trusted_ him with their lives, not if it meant they'd die. But there was something about Wesker's voice, something he found he couldn't argue with. Some hidden charisma. The sort that found in great leaders. And Chris realized the STARS captain was definitely a great leader, even if he was a little aloof.

"Hell yes, sir!"

Wesker smiled again. "Good, not let's get a move on. If we stick together, we can get more accomplished than we could alone. The time for freelancing is over. We're STARS, and we'll get out of this as a team."

Chris took point with Richard's shotgun, and together they left the music room.

It never occurred to him that Wesker had lumped Rebecca in with the two STARS Chris knew for certain were dead.

They left the music room, Wesker directing Chris without actually telling him where they were going. They headed downstairs, through a kitchen…and outside.

Chris took a deep breath. "Wow" he said, exhaling loudly. "It feels so good to be out of there."

"Don't get too comfortable" Wesker replied, stepping past him. "We're not done in their yet."

"What are we doing now?"

Wesker pointed ahead of them, where Chris could see a large stone building, shaped like a mausoleum. It was built on a hill, and surrounded by several crumbling tombstones. "I found a note. It indicated that a seal we'll need to open some of the doors in the mansion are located in the servant's residence, which is through there. We'll approach, then split up and find that seal."  
Chris nodded. "Okay. Any idea what it looks like?"

"It's a polygon, red and white triangles. It's stone, and about the size of two closed fists." Wesker paused, eyeing Chris's hands. "Well, two of _my_ fists. Maybe one of yours."

Chris snorted at the joke, then paused. "That seal, it looks just like the pharmacy logo."

Wesker nodded. "Yes. Weird, right?" He waved Chris forward. "C'mon, let's get a move on. I don't know about you, but _I_ have ambitions of sleeping tonight."

(REBECCA)

Rebecca closed the book, then stood up, working her shoulders. She'd developed an innate talent for speed reading in college, and was pleased to learn it was still working a year after she'd graduated. Maybe it was like ridding a bike?

Marcus's journal had been the goldmine she'd hoped it would be, but she still wished she had more information. She needed to be out in the mansion, looking for more evidence, helping her team…

_But you were ordered to remain here. Get in the habit of disobeying orders, and what will become of your brilliant law enforcement career? _Rebecca snorted. What career? She'd taken the job at the RPD as a springboard to bigger and better things, mostly because Mat was already there, and she'd missed him while she'd been away. But Mat was dead, and she was beginning to suspect she wasn't cut out for police work. _That settles it_ she decided. _As soon as we get back, I'm handing Chief Irons my resignation, effective immediately._

But until then, she was still a police officer, and her friends needed her. Rebecca took a deep breath, then let it out. Her lungs didn't burn, and she knew she'd be able to function adequately, so long as she didn't stress herself too much.

Still, there _were_ her orders.

Rebecca thought for a moment, then came to a realization. She'd been told by the other STARS (the big, kind looking one whose name she didn't remember) not to leave the room, but…

There might be a way around that.

Rebecca began to explore. There wasn't much to the room she'd been left in: a hideous rug over scratchy carpet of a rather bland shade, a nearly empty bookcase, a large chest (which she'd been sitting on), and a door at the back, which she found was locked. Still, there was the trunk to examine. But if Rebecca didn't find anything useful inside, then she intended to leave, regardless of what she'd been told.

The trunk had a lock, a simple one, but it might as well have been a thumb print scanner for all Rebecca's skill at lock picking. She was no Jill Valentine, able to open doors almost as easily as looking at them.

"Fortunately, there is more than one way to skin a cat." It had been one of Mr. Dawson's favorite sayings; not an image Rebecca would likely have conjured on her own, but one she did now without thinking.

She pulled out her Samurai Edge, stepped back, and fired once at the lock…then immediately ducked as the bullet _pinged_ and began to merrily ricochet all around the room. She threw herself flat, until at last the bullet buried itself in the wall above the box. _Never trying that again_.

She stood up, examining the box. Despite risking harm to her person, she _had_ managed to shoot the lock off. Once she got back to Raccoon City, she intended to ask Sergeant Valentine for lock picking lessons-_No_ she corrected _you're going to resign from STARS when you get back. Why would you need to pick locks if you aren't a cop?_

The box's lid was heavy, and Rebecca had to holster her handgun in order to open it. She'd expected to find a trunk full of various papers; something for her to occupy herself with should she decided to remain in the room. Instead…

She found darkness. Total, all swallowing darkness.

The box was a trick, a sham to cover up the passageway below. There was ladder leading down, a good, sturdy metal one. Rebecca could feel cold air wafting up from below.

_Thank you, Lord_ she prayed silently, a huge smile on her face. _Thank you for allowing me to follow orders_. The shaft _was_ in the room, after all. She wouldn't be disobeying orders by going down it.

Her dad had always wanted her to do something respectable, like being a doctor at someplace like Johns Hopkins in New England, or a lawyer. But Rebecca had had no interest in such boring lines of work. Once she left the RPD, she'd probably go to work in the field, someplace where she could get her hands dirty, enjoy a little adventure…

Still, Mat had always kidded her about being able to work her way out of anything. She smiled for a moment, remembering a time when they'd snuck off to go see-

She shook her head. Mat was dead. She still had her memories, but nostalgia was something for her to do on her own time. Right now she needed to focus.

The rungs of the ladder were surprisingly cold against her palms, even through Rebecca's shredded fingerless gloves. They'd been torn up when the infected monkey had nearly knocked her into the bottomless pit, and she'd have to buy a new pair when she got back-_No you won't. You won't need them anymore._

Rebecca set her feet down again on solid ground, then paused a moment to look back up the shaft, at the small rectangle of light above her head. She was a _long_ way down. She wished she'd thought to put something on the box, to keep it from closing, but decided not to worry about it.

The tunnel she stood in was obviously not a natural formation, but neither was it the smooth work of modern equipment. The walls were jagged and rough, with several loose rocks. The floor was smooth, although Rebecca had no idea why; it couldn't be from water running through…could it? The air was cool, and she shivered; like all the STARS, she'd left her uniform windbreaker back at the RPD HQ. After all, how likely was she to need a jacket in July?

"I'd say pretty darn likely" she muttered, drawing her handgun and clicking on the flashlight. It illuminated a wide disk directly in front of her, but not much more. She'd need to walk slowly, in case anything unpleasant was lurking below the mansion. She shuddered, remembering the lizard monsters that had attacked her and Captain Enrico underneath the Umbrella Training Center.

She sighed. She hadn't thought about Enrico in some time. She hoped her superior was okay; although he came off a little gruff, he really _was_ a good man, and…

_Focus._

She made her way down the tunnel, her footsteps unnaturally loud in the still, small space. She could hear water dripping off the walls, and more than once stepped over (or _in_) small puddles. But the sounds of her progress were the only sounds she heard.

The tunnel began to slope steadily downward, at the same time gently curving to the left. She continued to follow, goose bumps breaking out on the bare skin of her arms.

Up ahead she could see a dim, greenish light, coming from a narrow opening, like a doorway. Cautiously she quickened her step, eager to see what lay ahead. As she got closer, she could hear a faint, dry rustling, a sound that seemed oddly familiar…

Rebecca entered the room and immediately felt her mouth fall open. The room she stood in was relatively large, with a high ceiling. It still had the smooth walls of the cave, but she could also see an intricately carved block a few feet away.

GEORGE TREVOR, CHIEF ARCHITECT

1965

_These are the foundations_ Rebecca realized. _The very bottom of the mansion. How far down _am_ I?_

But soon Rebecca's attention was refocused on the huge mass hanging above her head.

It resembled a large, stringy dirt clod, one the size of one of the RPD's armored vans. Small, pale, hair-like strands hung down from the dirt, while several larger, thicker green ropes ran down and were fused into the walls around it. It took Rebecca a moment to realize it, but this…thing was giving off the room's faint glow.

_It can't be_ she thought, her mind trying to deny what her eyes told her. _That's not possible. _But there it was. Before her was the tap root for what had to be the largest plant she'd ever seen.

Her mind raced. _What _was_ this thing? Why grow it? What did it do? _Did someone at Umbrella have an odd green thumb, or-

Rebecca heard a crack from behind her, the sound of stone crumbling. She dodged just in time as a huge, vine-like root slammed down where she had stood a moment before. She let out a small cry of surprise, sidestepping another whip-like swing at her stomach. Somehow, the plant knew she was down here. And it wasn't happy.

Rebecca leveled the handgun, spreading her feet to steady her aim, staring down the iron sights at the mass of tangled roots…only to feel something rough wrap around her bare ankle and yank her off her feet.

Rebecca cried out in alarm as she found herself hauled upside down, suspended several feet above the floor. She tried to shoot the root holding her up, but another wrapped around her right wrist, squeezing tight, forcing her to drop the handgun. It clattered to the floor, not far away, yet it might as well have been on the moon.

Another root snaked out, wrapping around her waist, squeezing. Rebecca's ribs were suddenly on fire, and she tugged desperately with her left hand, her right now pinned to her side. She could feel the blood rushing toward her head, felt her face getting hot as her scalp began to burn.

Just as another root stretched out, and wrapped itself around her throat.


	17. Overgrowth

Chapter 16:

Overgrowth

(JILL)

"What _is_ that?" Jill asked, pointing to the undulating mass that swayed in the gap before them.

Barry scratched his head. "I have no idea. But I doubt it's friendly. Probably best to steer clear of it."

"Sounds reasonable. Except every door on this end is locked. If we're going to keep looking, we'll need to do something about…that."

"Okay. What do you have in mind?"

"There were some crates back that way" Jill explained, pointing. "I figured we could push them over and use them to block at least part of the crack."

"Sounds good" said Barry, holstering his Samurai Edge and rubbing his hands together. "Let's get to it."

Jill had gone looking for Barry after she'd formulated her plan. Though she hated to admit it, the boxes probably weighed as much as she did, and were big besides. She couldn't push them on her own.

But then she'd found Barry, and he'd acted suspiciously. She _knew_ she'd heard him talking to someone, only to have him lie to her face. There was something funny going on, and she wanted to get to the bottom of it.

But later. Now, they needed to find out what was on the other end of the thing blocking their path. _Huh _Jill thought. _It almost looks like a plant…_

"Jill, are you with us?"

She turned, to see that Barry had started to go back toward the crates, then had stopped when he realized she wasn't following. "Y-yeah. Just…thinking."

Barry grinned. "Well, we all know how dangerous that can be." He gestured. "C'mon. I need you to show me where those boxes are."

Jill nodded, then took the lead, her thoughts shifting dramatically. _He seems so _normal_. Maybe I was wrong…_

There were four large, light colored wooden crates. Although they were easily three times as wide as Jill, they weren't very heavy, and she realized she could have pushed them alone.

They decided to push the boxes over the edge of the gap, stacking them on the floor below, then jumping across however much of the gap was left. All the while, the vine-like tentacles continued their rhythmic motion, swaying gently in the nonexistent wind.

"That's just about the most unnerving thing I've seen tonight" Barry muttered. Jill nodded in agreement. It _was_ weird.

It took all four boxes, but they managed to make a tall enough column to have some chance of jumping over the gap. Jill looked over at Barry.

"Great. Now what?" s he asked.

Barry didn't answer. He just stepped onto the stack of boxes, spreading his arms slightly as it began to sway. "Careful" he called over his shoulder. "It's a little unstable."

He took a step back to gain momentum, then lunged across the gap. After a heat stopping second later, he landed on the other end with a grunt, bending his knees to absorb the shock of his feet hitting the floor. He turned around to face Jill. "Okay!" he shouted. "Your turn!"

Jill took a deep breath, then bolted forward, running flat out to be sure she had as much momentum as she possibly could. Just before the edge of the boxes, she leapt into the air, feeling her breath catch as she soared over the gap.

Suddenly, she felt something wrap itself around her ankle and yank her down. She let out a scream of distress and grabbed the edge of the broken floor, her fingers sliding down the side of the smooth wooden panels as she was dragged into the gap.

"Jill!" Barry shouted, leaping forward and catching her arm just before she was pulled below. "Hold on!"

"Quick, pull me up!" Jill shouted, feeling the vine tighten painfully around her ankle.

Barry grunted and began to pull, his face contorting in exertion as he tried to drag her back up. But the vine's grip was too powerful. Jill felt a strong pain in her shoulder as Barry threatened to dislocate her arm, while the muscles in her stomach and legs strained.

"Stop! Stop!" she shouted, causing Barry to loosen his grip and almost loose her. "Just hold me here. I'll take care of this."

She reached for her knife, still strapped to her chest. Until tonight she'd never used it in her entire career as a police officer, and now she'd had to use it twice. _Some day_ she muttered as she pulled the blade out, then reached down and tried to slash at the vine. She needed to be careful; one wrong swipe and she'd stab herself in the leg.

Her first slashes did little more than flake away the outer skin of the plant, but her third cut more deeply, sinking into the vine and peeling it open like the mutant crab grass they'd had in her yard when she was a kid. She'd always hated having to mow that shit…

The plant reacted immediately. With sudden fury, all the vines lashed out, whipping around the two hapless STARS officers. Jill felt them strike across her unprotected back and arms, and heard Barry grunt in pain as they slapped at his face. Still, he didn't let go, and dragged her up onto the floor, still dragging her until they were well away from the thrashing plant. Then they both collapsed, breathing heavily. Jill sheathed her knife, taking a brief moment to notice her blue beret was still in place on her head.

"Guess that vine whip packs a punch" Barry said after he'd caught his breath.

Jill blinked in confusion. "What?"

"It's a video game Kara always wants to…Never mind. It'd be too difficult to explain."

Jill stood up, then helped Barry, noticing the dark red lines across his face, his skin broken in a few places where the vines had struck particularly hard. "That's the second time you've save me tonight."

Barry just shrugged. "Well, after the third time, I expect monetary compensation." He grinned to show he was kidding.

Jill punched his arm. "I owe you."

"If you say so."

They headed downstairs, the only option they had.

"I don't like this" said Jill. "I feel like we're being herded toward that plant thing."

Barry nodded, drawing his Samurai Edge magnum. "I don't have my pruning shears handy. I hope this will do."

They came around a corner and found a set of double doors. They each took one, then burst into the room together.

Looming before them on the far wall was the most horrifying thing Jill had ever seen. It was as if someone had taken a Venus flytrap, modified it to be even more appalling and intimidating, then increased its size a thousand fold. The plant rose from floor to ceiling, with vines stretching out past the ends of both walls, clutching at three fourths of the room. It was dominated by a large, closed flower bud at its center, with faded red petals that dipped a sickly yellow sap that hissed and sizzled when it touched the wooden floor. Several smaller buds decorated the walls, along with a few of the gently swaying vines that had attacked them earlier.

"Well, I think we've found the root of the problem" muttered Barry.

"Let's go" said Jill, tugging at his sleeve. "There's nothing we can do about that thing, and anyway, there's no reason to fight it."

Barry shook his head and pointed. "Look at that."

The room they stood in seemed to have once been an enormous lounge. There was a decrepit bar to one side, although the plant had thoroughly destroyed that as it grew. Cobwebs hung thick from the walls, as well as the ancient crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The plant had tangled itself in the ornament's intricate lace work, hugging it close like a petulant child trying to pluck an apple from a tree. And glistening in one of the plant's enveloping tentacles, embedded deep inside, was a large metal emblem in red and white.

"Now, I may be new to this," said Barry, "but I suspect that might be important."

"I was afraid you'd say that. How do we get it down?"

Barry shrugged. "Ask politely? How should I know?" He unsafetied his semi-automatic magnum. "C'mon, let's go say hi."

They made it three steps before the plant seemed to come alive, swinging its vines at them before they'd even reached the center of the room. Jill and Barry rolled in opposite directions, then rose up into a pair of identical crouches, firing their weapons into the monster weed's sickly green body.

One of the vines that came for Jill had a small flower on it. When it swung near her face, the bud opened and tried to take a bite out of her, only to be torn in half by a solid slug from the medicine gun. The shortened vine writhed about in what appeared to be agony, slapping helplessly at the floor, the mostly severed end waving limply.

"Barry!" Jill shouted, pointing up toward the ceiling. "Shoot that flower bud!"

Barry sent her a confused look, then shrugged and opened fire, his Samurai Edge chattering away as it fired trios of .40 bullets into the air. But the heavy rounds struck the flower petals with a hollow ringing noise and dropped, flattened, to the wooden floor to the ground like loose change.

"Shit!" Barry exclaimed. "They've armored the thing!" He waved to Jill. "C'mon, we have to fall back! Maybe we'll be able to find something that will dent this damn thing."

Jill nodded, remembering Mat's P90. Supposedly it would punch through any armor known to man. _See, you shouldn't have left him behind_ she thought angrily.

She was almost to the door when something wrapped itself around her ankle and jerked her back, off her feet. "Barry!" she shouted as it pulled her away from the door. "Barry, help me!"

Barry turned, his eyes meeting hers, and for a moment she saw genuine anguish cross his face. "I'm sorry" she heard him say quietly.

Then he turned and left her.

"You bastard!" Jill shouted more and more vines attacked her, lifting her into the air. She dropped the medicine gun and managed to draw her Samurai Edge, pumping fifteen 9mm rounds into the plant. The slide on the handgun locked back on an empty chamber and she threw the weapon away in disgust, pulling her knife out and stabbing furiously at the thick vine squeezing her waist. She broke through the plant's outer skin, exposing the sticky wet fleshy insides of the vine, which she began to slash at frantically with the knife, widening the hole.

Then she looked up, and saw the massive bud looming before her. Not it was open, revealing an unnatural mass of razor sharp teeth as it prepared to swallow her whole.

"C'mon, you bastard! Eat me!" Jill screamed as she was raised closer and closer to those waiting jaws. She braced herself, preparing for the end…

(REBECCA)

Rebecca could feel the pain in her ribs almost the vines squeezed, pressing her light tactical vest against her body, as well as the coarseness of the vine around her throat. She'd tried prying it away, only to give up when that proved futile. She instead began to dig in her pack, hunting for the chemicals she'd grabbed after a brief stop-off at the medicine room after splitting up with Richard. There were more than a few that could suit her needs, but-

The vines tightened briefly, and Rebecca cried out in sudden pain, before they unexpectedly loosened, dropping her down a few inches. Not much…but enough for her to reach out and grab the Samurai Edge with her left hand.

Rebecca let out a triumphant cry as she snatched up her weapon. This was her weak hand, but…._Lord, please. Just a little more._

Rebecca's fingers brushed across a particular bottle, then one she'd grabbed…just in case. She managed to jerk it out of her back, then flung it into the air with a flick of her wrist.

With her arm pinned against her side, her throw wasn't very good. But it didn't matter. Quickly, without even thinking, she raised the Samurai Edge to eye level, squinted awkwardly down the iron sights, and pulled the trigger…

(JILL)

Jill had just consigned herself to death when she heard a scream from below her. Not a cry of pain. More like…a battle cry.

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" she heard a man's voice shout from below her, and wrenched her head around to see _Barry_ rushing back into the room, a bizarre machine clutched in his hands like a rifle. It looked like something out of a science fiction movie, all plastic with wire and lights, but there was a basket ball sized tank beneath the foregrip.

"Oh God" Jill moaned quietly, realizing what her teammate had found.

Barry didn't say anything. He just kept up his wordless scream as he unleashed the flamethrower on any vines near him, not slowing down as he rushed toward her. He aimed a jet of flame up at the huge flower, only to have the petals suddenly close up. They were blackened by the fire, but didn't burn like the rest of the plant.

"Fireproof!" Barry exclaimed, disgustedly. "Come _on_!"

A vine slammed into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him, as another wrapped around his body, just below his arms, and hoisted him into the air. With his arms now stretched out, Barry couldn't aim the makeshift flamethrower, but that didn't stop him from hosing down everything unfortunate enough to cross his path. Jill narrowly escaped being burned herself.

_The plant's closed. So how do we kill this thing? _Jill wondered.

Suddenly, there was an earsplitting screech that seemed to come from deep within the monstrous plant. The vines holding Jill and Barry high above the floor suddenly released, dropping them to the unforgiving ground below.

Jill landed hard, but rose quickly to her feet, her entire body sore as she watched the plant spasm wildly. "What the hell?"

Barry sat up and groaned. "I don't know. _I _didn't do that."

"Quick, we need that emblem!" Jill shouted, pointing up at the wild vine as it continued to wave erratically through the air.

Just then the plant's petals opened and it seemed to lunge forward, the wall behind it collapsing as its sole support detached itself.

Barry leveled the flamethrower at the open maw and let loose a jet of flame, straight into the plant's delicate jaws. With another unearthly screech, the plant began to burn.

"Now Jill!" Barry shouted, pointing at the vine still high above their heads. "Shoot it down!"

Jill looked around for a moment, finding the empty Samurai Edge. She grabbed the weapon, then holstered it, knowing the handgun wouldn't do much to the monster. But right next to it…

Jill snapped up the old shotgun, brought it to her shoulder, and pulled the trigger. The solid leg slug flew straight, severing the vine about a foot before the emblem. With a groan the broken vine fell to the floor. Jill dashed forward and grabbed it, tugging it free from the thick vine, before staring up in horror at the towering mass that swayed drunkenly above her head.

She felt someone grab her sleeve. "C'mon Jill! That thing's comin' down!"

And they ran.

(REBECCA)

The exploding chemical worked just as Rebecca had wanted, igniting the root system above her. Instantly the plant had dropped her to the floor, its roots jerking frantically as they burst into flames.

Rebecca rolled to her feet, then dashed away as the room she'd been in began to collapse. She ran faster and faster, trying to stay ahead of the collapsing tunnel. She made it to the ladder and began to climb, just as an enormous cloud of dust enveloped her. Her mouth felt chalky and her lungs burned, her entire body covered in powdery dirt, but she couldn't stop climbing.

At last she reached the top of the ladder, scrambling over the side before collapsing on the floor, her back against the box as she tried desperately to catch her breath. Behind and below her, she heard a deep rumble as the tunnel she'd been inside collapsed.

"Next time, I am definitely staying put" she muttered to herself, forgetting for a moment her vow that there wouldn't _be_ a next time.

(JILL) 

The monster flytrap (_or maybe it's a person trap_ Jill thought whimsically) collapsed like a ton of bricks, hitting the floor and falling through the creaky wooden boards as the entire lounge collapsed in a huge cloud of dust. Jill heard a dull thud about half a second later, and wondered how far the thing had fallen.

Then she turned to Barry. "Did you make that?" she asked, pointing to the improvised flamethrower in his hands.

Barry shook his head. "Naw. I saw it earlier and ran back to get it."

"Oh" said Jill quietly. "I'm sorry" she said, after a long pause. "About what I said earlier. I thought…I thought you were leaving me."

Barry shrugged, then helped her stand up. "Don't sweat it. I would've thought the same thing. It's not a big deal."

"That's the third time you've saved me. What do I owe you?" Jill reached into her pocket and removed her wallet.

Barry's face got red. "Jill, I was kidding. You don't have to-"

"How bout this? Next time we're at Jay's, drinks are on me. Sound fair?"

"Sure thing." Barry paused, then looked at her nervously. "You grabbed that emblem, right?"

Jill nodded, untucking it from her belt. "Right here."

The emblem was stone, but polished so smoothly that it shined. On its surface was the familiar logo. The one Jill saw all over town. The one Mat said was linked to this nightmare.

"Umbrella" she said softly. Then she turned to Barry. "C'mon. I want to check out that other fork. Then we can head back to the mansion."

Barry looked like he wanted to argue, then changed his mind. "Okay. Let's go."


	18. Hunted

Chapter 17:

Hunted

(MAT)

Mat ignored the snakes slithering out of what appeared to be every nook and cranny, every piece of ruined stone in the deserted courtyard. If they _were_ infected, they weren't showing the heightened aggression he'd come to associate with Umbrella's zombie plague. Until one of them actually came after him, he would continue to let them be.

He passed under a dilapidated gazebo, the stone covered with vines and half collapsed. Inside he found some broken statuary, what appeared to have been a woman, some sort of Druid, holding a jar for water. Mat suspected this might be one of Umbrella's twisted puzzles, but left it alone. If he was correct, then he might unleash something truly nasty if he did something wrong.

The next area looked like it had once been a pond. There was a large bridge in the middle, but it stretched to and from empty air. Mat could see a series of gears at the bottom of the empty pond; presumably the mechanism used to move the bridge.

He found a likely place to operate that machine, but immediately noticed he was missing something very important: the valve handle needed to actually turn it. Mat rolled his eyes. _Why does everything have to be done the hard way?_

He contemplated going back and looking for the valve. Hopefully, it would be somewhere nearby; otherwise he could be out here all night looking for the damn thing…

_If I even need it_ he realized. There might be a way to get across the dry pond without even worrying about the bridge. _Things might go my way for a change_…

There was a well a few feet away, an old stone hole in the ground, circular, with a rotten wench sitting on top of it, the wood moldy and decaying. Mat unslung the P90 and aimed it down the dark shaft, using the weapon's rail mounted flashlight to see what was below.

He illuminated…nothing. However deep the shaft was, it went too far down for him to effectively see with his P90. It could be fifteen feet…or fifty. _And there's no way for you to tell._

Suddenly, he heard an ear splitting screech from behind him. He whirled around, eyes darting, as the cry echoed about the stone confines of the courtyard. He recognized the sound, remembering the swift, dark purple shapes that had leapt out of the blackness of the Hive's corridors. He brought the P90 up to his shoulder. "Come on" he muttered softly, clicking off his flashlight, hoping his eyes would recover their night vision before the attack came. "Come on out."

The first screech he heard was answered, once, twice, five times, the cries mingling together into a single ear splitting symphony. Mat gritted his teeth, backing up against the well, his eyes darting to his right and left, desperately searching for any sign of movement. The monsters weren't terribly smart, but there _were_ fast, and they'd spill his guts if he wasn't careful.

He heard another scream, closer, but one which turned from a cry of the hunt to a cry of surprised agony, of pain. A cry that cut off abruptly. _One of the STARS?_ Mat wondered. _Then why didn't I hear a gunshot?_

He got his answer a moment later. He heard two more of the reptilian pack hunters screech in unison, followed by a deeper, more human scream.

"_Math-errrr_!"

Mat felt his face go pale, his eyes widening slightly. "Oh Jesus."

Quickly he slung the P90, pulling Captain Enrico's Colt out of his pants, ejecting the magazine and counting his bullets. Four shots. Not enough for another encounter with the walking tank he and the Bravo team captain had run into hours before.

He heard one of the hunters scream in pain, the other letting out a cry of frustration and fury, before darting away from the monster…back toward Mat. He heard its light feet as it dashed across the broken stones, followed closely by the clinking of metal, and the slow, dragging march of the nightmare.

Mat looked around, desperate for some place to escape to. But this section of the courtyard was a dead end; the only place he could go was down into the empty pond. _Not an option_ he realized. The hunter would probably go there itself, and the strange juggernaut would only follow. That left.

"Oh, this is a _bad_ idea" Mat muttered, turning back to the well. He climbed up onto the rim, took a deep breath to calm his nerves, then hopped over, tucking his legs up to his body, bending his knees to absorb the impact of his landing. He managed to keep from making a sound, afraid the lizard monster would jump into the darkness after him.

He landed with a loud splash, the cold water at the bottom of the well arresting his momentum enough that he didn't injure himself when he landed. He stood up, the water up to his waist, and quickly raised the P90, scanning briefly around the bottom of the well. Once the coast was clear, he'd need a way to get back to the surface.

He heard the lizard monster run into the courtyard above him, and unconsciously held his breath, desperate to keep it from hearing him. If he was very quiet, maybe it would move on…

Something brushed up against his leg. Something blindly groping for him. Mat let out a groan of disgust and brought the butt of his SMG down on the head of the aquatic zombie, breaking open its skull and mingling its gray matter with the waist high water.

He heard a noise from up above, the sound of the hunter, and silently cursed himself, readying the P90. If he was very, very lucky the opening would be too small for the big monster to follow him, or he'd be able to kill the lizard fast enough to-

He heard the hunter scream again, this time a cry of pain. There was a wet tearing sound, then something came bouncing down the well. Mat took a step back as it landed with a loud splash in the water. He heard heavy footsteps and the rattling of chains, which slowly faded away, then silence from above.

Mat risked the P90's flashlight, and then had to stifle a cry when he saw the face of the hunter not a foot away from his own. It took him a moment to realize he was staring at the top half of the creature; its legs were still up above. The monster with the chains, the one that kept turning up, had ripped the hunter in half.

Mat took a moment to note this creature was different from the ones he'd seen in the Hive: dark green skin as opposed to purple. It also seemed to be somewhat bulkier; he assumed it had more muscles. Hopefully that made it slower, and easier to kill.

Mat did a second cursory scan of the well, this time finding an alcove in one wall, wide enough for him to wade through. Moving slowly, pushing aside the floating body of the zombie he'd clubbed to death, he followed this new tunnel.

There was a ledge halfway down, which Mat eagerly climbed onto, happy to be out of the ice-cold water. There was a new hallway branching off to his left, and Mat followed…right into a large, invisible net.

"Ugh!" he exclaimed in disgust as the sticky strands touched his face and hands. "What the hell?" He tried to pull free, but the net might as well have been steel for all the good he did.

Then he remembered Rain's knife, slid into the sheath on the back of his belt and forgotten. He twisted his back, straining to reach for the blade. At last his fingers brushed the tip of the knife's grip, and he tugged it free, then slashed at his invisible bonds. In a few seconds he was free.

Mat sheathed the knife, then unslung the P90, shining the light in front of him. The beam reflected off three more of the small, nearly invisible nets, not two alike, each with an intricate pattern of tiny cables, almost like-

"Oh God" Mat said softly.

As carefully as he could, he slit small openings in the nets, just large enough for him to squeeze through, taking extra care not to cause unnecessary damage.

He made it through the last web, started to take a step forward, then felt something on his shoulder; a sudden, unexpected weight. He turned his head slowly, carefully, feeling long, finger-like legs, covered with small, irritating hairs, as they brushed up against his neck.

"Ugh!" he shouted, smacking the enormous spider off his shoulder. It struck a wall, spasmed, righted itself, then scuttled back toward him. Mat drew the Browning and shot it one handed. He _hated_ spiders.

He took a moment to catch his breath, then cautiously continued on. _Could've been worse_ he told himself, stepping into a more spacious room. _It could have been _much_ big-_He stopped, the light from the P90 suddenly reflected from half a dozen points, all suspended less than three feet from his face.

"Oh" he said quietly.

(CHRIS)

It felt good to be outside again. Chris could feel the cool night air on his skin, chilling the sweat on his body but also helping slow his heart rate. He felt like he'd been on the go all night, and now all of a sudden it was all catching up with him.

Wesker had led the way, through the machine shed and out into the ruined courtyard. Had Chris not been preoccupied, he might have realized Wesker didn't need to think about where he was going; it was almost like he already _knew_ the courtyard's layout.

They came to a fork in the path they had been following, one way heading deeper into the stone labyrinth, while the other headed toward another, smaller mansion, this one obviously in severe disrepair.

Wesker pointed up at it. "Let's split up. I want you to check that building up ahead. I'll go left and explore more of this maze. If we find anything, we can meet back at the kitchen inside the mansion. Otherwise, we meet there in twenty minutes."

Chris nodded. "Okay. See you then, Captain."

He headed up the narrow, winding path leading to the smaller building. It was, or at one time at least had been a grand building in its own right, but the years of neglect it had obviously endured hadn't been kind, and now it would only ever be a shadow to the main house…

Chris shook his head. He must be getting really tired if he was suddenly a real estate critic.

He was just about to open the front door when he heard a loud, angry screech to his right. Turning, he saw what could possibly have been one of the most frightening things he'd ever seen.

It was roughly the height of a man, but hunched over, a feature that only served to enforce the cobra-like appearance of its hooded skull. It had long, almost ape-like arms, muscular but covered with the same dark green scales as the rest of its body. Its legs, on the other hand, looked like they belonged on a frog; they were long and slender, with reverse jointed knees Chris suspected made it an amazing jumper.

The creature let out another howl, raising its wickedly clawed hands over its head, showing Chris a mouth full of sharp, needle-like teeth. It crouched down, then sprang into the air, one arm angled down to slash at him.

Chris took a step back, raising his Samurai Edge as he did so. The creature landed less than two feet away from him and looked up, its small, beady eyes locking with his own. Chris didn't even bother with his handgun's iron sights; he just opened fire, squeezing the trigger again and again.

If the 9mm hurt the green colored lizard, it did a great job of not letting on. With a lighting fast motion, it slashed out at Chris's stomach, trying to spill his guts out on the stone. Chris stepped back, narrowly avoiding the blow. He felt something tug at his chest and looked down to see that the creature's claws had torn open the front of his green tactical vest. _Damn, this was _custom_!_

Chris stepped back, then fed the monster five more handgun rounds, none of which seemed to have anymore effect than the first eight. _And now I'm down to two rounds_.

Chris dodged to the side as the monster lunged at him again, holstering the handgun as he did so. Then, with his right hand, he reached for the shotgun Richard would never need again. Hopefully, the heavier weapon would have more luck against the monster's tough scales. _Otherwise I'm up shit creek_.

He brought the shotgun up to his shoulder, didn't even bother to take aim, and blasted the lizard when it lunged for him again. Apparently running into a storm of 12 gauge buckshot wasn't good for the continued good health of lizard monsters, because it let out a screech he could only interpret as pain and fell backwards, thrashed around on the stone for a second, then was still.

Chris stood still for a moment, eyes and ears alert for the sound of more monsters, but none materialized. Either this was the only one in existence…_Or they're all just lying in wait for me to relax_. Not a pleasant thought.

Then something else occurred to him. The lizard and the firepower Chris had used to take it down had made quite a bit of noise. Yet Captain Wesker hadn't come back to check on him.

_Maybe he just knows I can take care of myself._ Chris would have gone looking for Wesker if their roles had been reversed, but maybe the STARS captain did things differently.

Chris turned back to the front door, started to open it, then took a step back. Where better to lay an ambush than the main entrance to a building? Chris wasn't interested in taking any chances he didn't have to, so instead he headed off to the side. _I'll do the thing they least expect_ he told himself, wondering if all this paranoia was really worth it.

(JILL)

Jill stepped out of the residence, then looked around. "Odd" she said over her shoulder to Barry. "I could've _sworn_ I heard gunfire out here a second ago."

Barry shrugged. "Well, whatever happened, it's already over now. Let's go."

Jill nodded. Whoever had been shooting, they were already long gone, obviously. She headed back down to the fork in the paths, taking the one that led deeper into the stone maze. She had a feeling she needed to check this area out before she left.

(MAT)

Only female spiders spun webs.

His third grade teacher had informed them this entire rather useful bit of trivia one day, as the class had been discussing _Charlotte's Web_. Mat couldn't quite be sure why that strange bit of information popped into his head, but suddenly it did.

The enormous spider swung at him, using one of her super strong webs like she was a trapeze artists. Mat dodge to the side, then brought the P90 up and opened fire, a single, long twenty-round burst that didn't seem to even phase the spider, assuming the bullets managed to find their target in the blackness.

Mat swept the flashlight quickly from side to side, making sure there weren't any other unwelcome surprises waiting for him. Finding no other large spiders, he returned to confront the one problem he already had, only to find the monstrous arachnid hadn't been a good little abomination and _stayed put_.

"Shit" Mat muttered to himself, sweeping the P90 back and forth, desperately seeking the creature. His flashlight beam reflected off something shiny and he immediately opened fire, only belatedly realizing it was the spider, but a bit of her errant webbing.

There was a loud crash from somewhere ahead of him as the spider unceremoniously dropped down to the floor with him. She let out an angry hiss and began to scuttles forward, her eight legs making deep drumming noises on the broken concrete floor.

Mat found her multi-eye head with the flashlight on his P90 and squeezed the trigger, silently praying to the God he was starting to have more faith in that this particular experiment wasn't armored like the last giant arachnid he'd run into.

His prayers were answered in the form of an angry shriek, which followed immediately on the heels of several of the spider's eyes popping as if they were so many puss filled water balloons. The spider stumbled back, hissing angrily at him, using her two front legs to protect her head.

But 5.7mm rounds were designed to punch through body armor. They had no trouble going through half a foot of spider, much to Mat's relief as he fired what remained of his magazine into the monster's front legs and head.

With a shivering spasm, the monster spider sank to the floor, its ruined eyes leaking fluid all over the ancient concrete floor. Mat slung the almost completely empty P90, then pulled out his Browning and stepped forward. This creature hadn't had any choice in its creation; Umbrella had twisted it into something that should never have been. It wasn't the spider's fault it was a monster, and Mat didn't want to leave it down here, suffering in agony.

He leveled the handgun and fired three shots, the bullets tearing through the spider's head. Without a sound, the creature was suddenly still.

Mat took a deep breath, then pulled his handheld flashlight off his belt and scanned for an exit. He was getting tired of being alone in the dark down here. He was going to look for Jill, and this time he was going to do everything in his power to make sure they didn't get separated.

Something shined in the beam of his flashlight. Mat picked it up and turned it over in his hands. _A small key_ he realized, feeling the cold metal in his hands. _Might be useful later on._

His flashlight found a ladder in a hidden alcove nearby. He headed toward it, then began to climb, glad to be out of the mustiness of the underground corridors.

He climbed out of another well, then turned to his left. There he could just make out the dim shape of the mansion, rising above him in the darkness.

"Home, sweet home" he muttered to himself.

He headed back in through the kitchen, taking care to make sure nothing leapt out and tried to kill him. He rounded a corner and started up stairs an earsplitting screech sent shivers down his spine. _One of those lizards_ he realized. _It's inside the mansion, but where?_

Then another scream joined the first one. Not the scream of a monster, but a person. Mat didn't bother with caution now. He took off, heading deeper into the mansion, toward the source of the cries.


	19. A Shot in the Dark

Chapter 18:

A Shot in the Dark

(JILL)

They came around the corner, only to find a grizzly sight.

The area of the courtyard they were in now held a drained pond, and had obviously been intended at one time as a place to entertain guests. Now the man made pond had dried up and the entire section of the courtyard was overcome with vines. Jill shuddered, wondering if any of these plants were connected to the giant one she and Barry had encountered inside the residence. She hoped not, but she wouldn't have been surprised.

But something worse had happened in this part of the old courtyard than just neglect. The entire area was slick with blood, a thick, greenish colored gore of the consistency of anti-freeze. Lying half in the shadows of one wall were a pair of legs. They were slender and reptilian, the knees curved back for jumping, the feet tipped by talon-like claws. Jill shuddered. Whatever the thing had been, it wasn't something she ever wanted to meet down a dark alley.

_And something _else_ ripped it right in half_ she realized. She took a look around again, remembering the rains. _Something recently, too, or all this blood would have washed away._

Barry pointed ahead, to the bridge that stretched across the dry pond. On the other side was a rusty metal cage. _A service lift_ Jill realized.

"Let's check down there" Barry suggested. "Then I want to get back to the mansion and try that seal. I think I remember seeing some doors it would fit in." He paused, uncomfortably. "Jill, why don't I hold onto that for you? I've got more pockets."

Jill thought about it for a moment. Barry was acting odd again, but…_There's not a reason I can think of not to let him have it_ she decided.

"Here" she said, pulling the seal out of her belt and handing it to him.

Barry smiled. "Thanks" he said, putting it in the pocket of his dark red vest. "Now, shall we?"

The grating on the bridge made uncomfortable groaning noises as they walked, and Jill didn't want to spend any more time on it than she absolutely had to. It felt as if it would give out at any moment.

They managed to reach the lift without the bridge collapsing under their feet, for which Jill was very grateful. "Going down" she said to Barry, pushing the activation button on the lift's control panel.

There was a groan from somewhere below them as the lift mechanism activated. It rattled the entire way down, making Jill mildly sick, but didn't stop until they reached their destination.

Jill stepped off the lift, looking around the dark cavern. "This place gives me the creeps. I don't want to spend anymore time down here than we absolutely-Barry!"

At the sound of the lift reactivating, Jill spun around to see Barry as he rode it back up to the surface.

"Sorry Jill" he called down, a look of genuine sadness on his face. "I can't let you get in the way. This is the only way I can keep you safe from-"

"You bastard!" Jill shouted again, drowning out whatever else he'd been about to say.

Barry hung his head, as if he recognized he deserved the name, but didn't say anything again.

"Damn it!" Jill muttered, shaking her head.

"Jill, is that you?"

The voice coming out of the shadows was distinctly familiar. "Enrico?" she called out. She thought she'd recognized the voice of STARS Bravo team's captain.

"Yeah" came the faint reply. "It's good to hear you. I've been stuck down here most of the night."

Jill cautiously headed toward the voice. After what had just happened with Barry, she was less than trusting at the moment. "Enrico, are you okay?"

There was a pained grunt. "Afraid not. This…_thing_ slashed my Achilles tendon, and I can't walk now."

_Oh shit_ Jill muttered. Joseph had all the squad's medical supplies. The only other source of first aid knowledge was Rebecca Chambers, the Bravo team medic, and Jill hadn't ever even _met_ her. She had no idea where she might be.

She stepped around a corner and found Enrico leaning up against a wall. "Here, lean on me" she said, stepping forward. "I'll help you get back to the-"

"Stop right there" he said grimly, and suddenly Jill saw the Samurai Edge aimed at her midsection. _Not again_.

"Are you alone?" he asked through gritted teeth; whatever else was going on, he hadn't been lying about being in pain.

"Yeah" she said cautiously, not sure where this was going.

"Who were you talking to earlier?"

"Barry Burton" Jill replied. "He…left me down here. I don't know why yet."  
Enrico blinked. "Did he? That's not like Barry at all…" He paused, then lowered the handgun. "Sorry about that, but I don't know who I can trust right now." Jill started forward again, but he stopped her. "Wait" he said. "Before you take me up to the surface, I have something important I have to tell you."

Jill blinked, confused. Why was he so paranoid? And why couldn't his news wait until they got back to the surface?

"There's a traitor" Enrico said slowly, his teeth gritted in pain. "A traitor in STARS. And his name is-"

Jill never heard the gunshots. One moment, Enrico was trying to lever himself to his feet, and then a trio of holes opened in the fabric of his vest. Letting out a groan that sounded like a balloon being deflated, Enrico collapsed.

"No, Enrico!" Jill exclaimed, hurrying forward.

Enrico was fading fast; there was blood soaking his white STARS shirt and the darker fabric of his vest. His breathing was shallow. Still, he tried to tell finish his message.

"D-don't…trust….him" he said weakly, his eyes loosing focus.

"Who?" Jill shouted. "Who shouldn't I trust?" She was desperate to know what was so important to Enrico that he'd use his dying breath to tell her.

"He's…with…Um…brell…_ah_." With a last sigh, Enrico was still.

Jill stayed crouched beside the still body of Captain Enrico for a few minutes, lost in thought. With him dead, Alpha team had almost totally failed their mission. _Assuming Chambers is still out there, we have to find her fast .Otherwise, this has all been for nothing._

And now there was a traitor in the STARS. Jill's first suspicion was of Barry, but she had to discard that. Barry and Enrico had been friends, and besides, he'd left her down here alone. Unless he had some way to sneak around behind her back, there was no way he could've murdered Enrico. _Besides, wouldn't he have stayed down here and iced us both, if he even knew Enrico was down here? Why all the secrecy?_

Enrico had said _he_ was a traitor. With Joseph (_poor Joseph_) dead in the woods, that left Brad, Chris, and Captain Wesker the only other possibilities. Brad she ruled out too; there was no way the pansy chopper pilot had the stones to end someone.

And she hadn't seen Chris all night…_Maybe he planned it that way_ Jill realized. _Maybe he got separated on purpose. Maybe he's been running around the whole time, tying up loose ends for Umbrella. He could've popped Wesker, Mat, and the Chambers girl. He could've gotten to Barry somehow, and then…_

"Stop it" she told herself firmly. There was no point in blind speculation. All she had now were a dead STARS captain and baseless suspicions. She needed proof.

"And I know just where to get them" she realized.

She was going to find her way out of this maze….and then she was going to find Barry. One way or another, she was going to have answers.

END OF PART III

_Hey guys, just a little note from the author. I have gotten pretty much no reviews of this story, and it's really starting to bug me. If you'd be so kind as to start reviewing the story every time you read it, I'd really appreciate it._

_Thanks!_

_Godzillafan93 _


	20. Reunion

Part IV:

Revelations

Chapter 19: Reunion

(MAT)

He ran, faster than he had in so long. He had a single, driving need: he could _not_ fail this time, not after everything else. Too many people had already died tonight. _Not again._

He didn't encounter any infected during his mad dash; a miracle, but one he didn't notice. He didn't have room in his mind for anything except the task at hand.

He heard gunshots from up ahead and up above; short and spaced enough to be a handgun, probably one of the STARS Samurai Edges. He heard another cry, this one of frustration, followed by an angry, unearthly shriek, the answering call of the lizard.

He climbed a flight of stairs three at a time, rounded a corner, and found a door partially ajar. He shoved it open with the butt of his gun, then hurried inside.

_Can't be too late_ he thought. _Please God, please don't let me be too late…_

(REBECCA)

Rebecca backed away from the monster, panic suddenly gripping her mind. For the first time in many long hours, pure, undiluted _terror_ seized her, and she screamed again.

Her Samurai Edge slid from her suddenly shaking hands, hitting the floor with a dull thump. The slide had already locked back on the 9mm; its bullets didn't fly fast enough to dent the monster's thick scales, like the MP5 had been able to. She was helpless, out of options.

She backed into a corner, trying the door there frantically, knowing it was locked but making the attempt anyway. Unable to escaped that way, she huddled in the corner, drawing her knees up into her chest, trying to make herself as small as possible, as if the monster would loose sight of her and leave her alone.

_OhGodohGodPleaseHelpMe!_ The mantra ran through her head, halfway between panic and prayer.

The lizard stepped in close, raising one of its hideous claws for a killing blow. _Odd to go through so much and be killed like this-_Rebecca shut her eyes, hoping the end would be quick…

She heard a rattle from the door beside her. Her eyes snapped open in confusion, watching in fascination as the door knob began to turn, as the door swung open-

A hand reached out and grabbed Rebecca's arm, dragging her through the suddenly open doorway. A voice, one she never thought she'd hear again, shouted her name. She stumbled, and they both fell, her rescuer having the presence of mind to kick the door closed in the monster's face.

Rebecca stared at her rescuer, the last person she'd ever expected to see. "Mat!" she shouted, shock, relief, and joy warring in her voice. "Mat, you're alive!"

He blinked at her in confusion. "I hadn't realized the issue was in doubt."

"But, you were on the train, and-" Rebecca was cut off by a loud crashing noise, the sound of a claw being thrust through the wooden door, the sound of an thickly muscled arm tearing that door off its hinges. The lizard let out a shriek of delight at having located its prey.

Rebecca and Mat were on their feet in a moment. He stepped in front of her, leveling his submachine gun.

"Try this on" he said grimly, pulling the trigger.

The lizard stumbled as the bullets impacted on its body. Rebecca saw them pass completely through, going on through the wall behind the creature. There was just one problem.

Only three rounds discharged.

Mat realized his weapon was empty a second later, when it clicked at him. "Oh-" he began, dropping the weapon and going for his handgun.

But he moved just a second too late. The handgun had just cleared its holster when the monster lunged forward, a vicious sideswipe aimed at her friend's head.

Again, Mat showed he had good reflexes, leaning out of the blow. But, again, he wasn't quite fast enough, and the claws scored a deep gash across his face. He dropped the weapon, the force of the blow sending him headfirst into the wall. He groaned and dropped limply to the floor, his face a bloody mess.

"No!" Rebecca exclaimed, and the lizard turned away from finishing off Mat Dawson…and toward her.

She could see her friend's handgun, just over a foot away from her. She didn't recognize the make; it had similar qualities as her Samurai Edge, but with a dull coppery finish. A 9mm, which had proved ineffective against the lizards.

_Still, it's a gun, and you don't have many choices here._

Rebecca lunged for the handgun, rolling forward and snatching it up. She came up just in time to see the lizard slash at her, a move aimed at slitting her jugular, and saw her life flash before her eyes…

There was a loud bang, and the lizard cried out in pain, dropping down to the floor. Rebecca's head jerked around on its own; back behind her, where the shot had come from. "Richard!" she exclaimed.

But it wasn't Richard. It was Chris, and the Alpha team marksman seemed to have aged ten years since the last time she'd seen him. He stepped past her, Richard's shotgun trained on the prone lizard.

At last, once he was convinced it wouldn't get up again, he turned to face her. "Rebecca" he said, pausing. "Are you okay?"

She nodded dumbly; this was just one too many near death experiences. "I-I think so" she managed, her voice shaking. She stood up, then looked down at Mat's gun in her hand, as if wondering how it had gotten there…_Mat!_

She hurried forward, past Chris, to where the other cop, her best friend, was lying. He was breathing, not unevenly, but his face was a mask of blood, and there was a filthy wrapping on his arm…

_Oh no_ Rebecca thought. _He's been bitten._

Mat groaned, his hands going up to his face on their own. He felt the blood there, his eyes only barely open, then pulled them back, staring at his fingers as if wondering why they were suddenly wet.

Suddenly, it hit him. "Ugh!" he exclaimed, his head darting around, taking the room in. His eyes settled on Rebecca. "Are-are you okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah, thanks to you. You saved my life."

Mat rubbed at the blood on his face, wincing when his fingers touched the gashes from the lizard's claws. "Good, but next time I'll have to do a better job. This does _not_ feel good." He rose unsteadily to his feet, his eyes still not completely open in order to keep blood from running into them. He looked over at Chris in confusion. "Who are you?"

"Mat," said Rebecca, gesturing toward the STARS marksman, "this is Chris Redfield. He's from Alpha team, and he's here to rescue us."

Mat stood up straighter, then winced. "Sorry sir, I'm not at my best right now."

Chris smiled, and shook his head. "Don't worry about it. If you hadn't noticed, we're not as inclined to stand on ceremony as the rest of the RPD." He paused, looking Mat over. "Are you okay?"

Rebecca fished in her medical bag. Somehow, despite everything she'd been through in the last two days, it was still on attached to her belt on her hip. "Here," she said, pulling out a disinfectant wipe, "let me clean that wound." Before he could protest, she began wiping him down.

She winced when she saw the extent of his cuts. There were three, one across his nose at a rough 80 degree angle, two other parallel on either side. Mat had come within a fraction of an inch of loosing one or both of his eyes; even if he survived this nightmare, he'd have a nasty looking scar across his face.

"Well doc," Mat asked, grinning weakly, "am I gonna live?"

Rebecca smiled, now that he could see her. "That wasn't a life threatening injury."

"You coulda fooled me" he said sourly, making a face and then wincing when the muscles tightened on his slashed skin.

Rebecca ignored him, going to the wound on his arm. "Now, about these bandages" she said, reaching for them. "Mat, what happened here? There's a lot of blood…" She waited, fearing the answer. It had been Mat who had told her how the T-virus was spread. Surely he knew what was coming.

"Gunshot" he said, as if that was the most normal thing in the world. After a moment's reflection, Rebecca realized it might _have_ been the most normal thing Mat had had happen to him tonight. "I had a little run in with Forest, and he shot me-"

"What?" Chris had stood back for most of their conversation, but now he broke in. "You saw Forest? When? Where?"

Mat thought for a moment. "I dunno? This evening-" he paused, looking down at his watch. "No, scratch that. Last night. Man, I am so worn out right now-"

"Why did Forest shoot you?" Chris demanded.

Mat gave him an irritated look. "I dunno. He was crazy, going on about how I had betrayed us all, how I had-" He paused, apparently realizing something. "He said everybody but the two of us was dead. I was worried; I hadn't seen anybody since the train crash, not except-Oh, _shit_!' His eyes widened. "How could I be so stupid? I forgot all about him!"

Chris looked confused. "Train crash? Who did you-"

"We can explain later" Rebecca said. She turned to Mat. "What are you talking about?"

Mat was still berating himself. "Oh, how could I have screwed up so badly? He's hurt, and alone, and you were supposed to get help, but you didn't! You didn't send Jill or Lieutenant Burton to go-"

"You've seen Jill and Barry?" Chris asked.

Mat nodded absently. "Not for a while, though. Haven't seen Jill since we fought that giant snake, and haven't seen Burton since I gave him that mask-None of that's important, though. C'mon, we have to go!" Without sparing either of them a second glance, he turned and hurried away, back through the room Rebecca had almost been trapped in.

Chris shot her a confused look. "Is he okay?"

"I don't know. He's not usually this flighty." Rebecca shrugged. "Well, we'd better follow him."

Chris nodded. "Good idea."

Rebecca still had Mat's handgun. She paused long enough to collect and reload her Samurai Edge, then followed the other two cops. It didn't occur to her until after she'd already been walking for a while how she'd introduced Mat to Chris.

_This is Chris Redfield. He's here to rescue us._

"Rescue" she muttered, trying the word out on her tongue. It felt good. "It's time to go home."


	21. Answers

Chapter 20: Answers

(JILL) 

It was cold when Jill Valentine finally made her way out of the catacombs below the courtyard. She shuddered, remembering the bullet riddled corpse of the giant spider she'd found below. She was very grateful to whoever had put that particular Umbrella monster down; even if it _had_ been the STARS traitor.

She was making her way back to the mansion when her radio buzzed. At first, she didn't recognize the noise, and she stopped walking, trying to figure out what the sound was.

Then she heard the faint drone of helicopter blades, somewhere high above. Immediately, she clicked the TRANSMIT key on her radio. "Hello? Brad, is that you up there? Brad, come in! Over."

She heard the STARS chopper pilot immediately after, his Midwestern accent making him sound all the more panicked. "Hello? Brad to STARS Alpha! Is anyone down there? STARS Bravo?" He paused, apparently weighing his options. "SWAT Charlie? It doesn't matter. _Someone?_ C'mon, just give me a-"

Another voice joined Brad's increasingly frantic appeals. It was clotted and distorted by static, but Jill recognized it all the same.

"STARS Alph…forest around…nsion…full of…Stay…way."

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that" Brad replied, hope ringing on his voice. "You're breaking up. Listen, if you can hear me, if you can't respond, just give me a sign. Anything. Just let me know you're there." There was a pause, and then Jill could hear the despair in her teammate's voice when he added quietly. "Please be there."

"Brad!" Jill screamed into her radio. "Jill to Brad! I'm down here. Can you hear me?" There was no answer. "Shit" Jill muttered. "It's broken."

And how the fuck was she supposed to signal him? _I don't have a flare gun!_

Still, she had unfinished business to attend. Brad could wait.

The mansion was quiet, eerily so, when Jill returned. Nothing moved, and she almost felt hesitant to _breathe_ as she made her way back to the main hall.

_Think Valentine, _think! _Barry said he knew what that seal went to. Therefore, it has to be in one of the areas he checked, and that means-_

"BINGO!" she exclaimed, heading for a door to the right of the stairs.

The hall she found herself in was musty and dark, shadows cast oddly by the dying electric lights. She followed it cautiously, until she rounded a corner and saw a faint, reddish glow further down. She made her way toward it…

And stepped into something from a bad horror film.

The room below her had been carved out of a natural cavern. A ladder led directly below from the ledge she stood on; at the other end was a door. Between the two was a small, raised platform, dark abyss surrounding it. At each corner of the platform was a strange statue, linked with chains to the large casket at the platform's center.

And standing just before the casket, deep in thought, was Barry Burton.

Jill thought about taking the ladder down, but didn't want to risk the noise. Instead, she crouched down and leapt down to the platform, her boots making a muffled crunch when they touched the dusty floor below.

"Hello Barry" she said casually, keeping her hands ready as she walking up behind him.

Barry started, but recovered quickly. "Jill!" he exclaimed, turning to face her. "I'm glad to see you're still alive. I was worried-" One hand was still behind his back. _Silver Serpent_ Jill realized. _Not today._

Barry tried to swing his revolver in front of him, trying to take aim at Jill. But she reacted more quickly, stepping to the side, then seizing his arm with both hands, jerking the revolver out of his hands…and aiming it at his face.

"_Start talking_" she ground out angrily, her teeth clenched tightly enough to be painful.

Barry raised his hands in front of him, palms out, a look of panic on his face. "I-I didn't want to! Believe me, I can explain!"

"Don't you _lie to me!_" Jill shouted, fury taking over. It took a great deal of inner strength to keep from pulling the trigger and splattering Barry's brains all over the walls. "What's your game? And no bullshit!"

"Jill, I-"

They both turned at the mechanical groaning. A grate, hidden in the wall before them, began to slide open. Jill heard a rattle of chains and watched in horror as the monster that had chased her and Mat earlier lumbered into view.

"What the hell-Jill, we don't have time for this!" Barry shouted, turning to face her. "Please, give me back my gun. You've got to trust me on this one."

Jill thought about it, her mind racing. Barry had left her down in the catacombs, but not to die. He'd said something about trying to protect her. He'd saved her from Satan's houseplant. And the look on his face…Wordlessly, Jill relaxed her grip on the huge magnum, letting the heavy barrel swing the grip back toward Barry.

"Thanks" he said grimly, jerking it out of her hands, then spinning around to face the new threat. "Now, stay behind me."

"Hell with that" Jill replied, unslinging the medicine gun and working the shotgun's lever. "Let's go."

They both fired at once, their heavy rounds striking the hideous creature at roughly the same time. The monster let out a shriek of pure, animalistic rage as tentacles suddenly exploded from its torn, weathered body. Other than that new development, their shots didn't seem to have any effect.

"I think," said Barry calmly, "we may need to change tactics."

Jill looked around. The monster was banging on the casket in the center of the room, moaning something gravely and incomprehensible. Maybe there was something they could drop on the thing…

"Cover me!" she shouted to Barry, not waiting for him to reply as she dashed toward the nearest statue and shoved. It was heavy, but the floor was smooth and it slid easily enough. It didn't take Jill more than a few seconds to push it over the side. The chain attached to it suddenly grew taut.

"Jill, now is _not_ the time to redecorate!" Barry shouted to her, and for a moment he sounded like her old friend, the big, goofy gun nut she'd known for years.

"It's the statues!" she shouted back. "We have to open the casket!"

Barry stared at her for a moment, not comprehending. Then he got. "Hey Lisa!" he shouted, waving at the hideous creature (Jill had thought the thing suddenly feminine, but how the _hell_ did Barry know its name?). With a low growl it (she?) turned toward him, dragging its (her?) bloody, manacled hands along the ground. Jill hurried to the next statue and immediately began to shove it over the side, but not before noticing the nasty, red hued eye that glared at her, like some sort of evil tumor…from the thing's back. She shivered in revulsion.

Two statues had gone over the edge. Jill hurried toward the third one, only to have the…Lisa rush her, tentacles flailing wildly. She turned, braced her feet, brought the medicine gun up, and fired a solid lead slug into…Lisa's face.

She let out an angry bellow and sank to her knees, moaning piteously, shaking her head back and forth. The lead slug had lodged itself partially in her horribly twisted forehead, and she didn't seem to know how to get it out. Jill took advantage of her distraction to knock over a third statue, then turned to go after the last…only to find a very angry mutant blocking her path.

"Oh boy" Jill muttered, eyes darting about for some chance of escape. "What do I do now?" she asked, as Lisa slowly advanced on her.

There was a loud bang from beside Jill, and she turned to see the lid of the casket rising into the air; Barry stood triumphantly in the space formerly occupied by the last statue.

Lisa seemed to lose all interest in Jill. Instead she turned toward the newly opened coffin…and the withered skeleton inside.

Carefully, she reached her bloodied, manacled hands into the casket, her fingers wrapping around the gristly skull. With a jerk she pulled it free.

"_Moth-errrrr_" the creature said softly. Then, still clutching the skull, and with a shriek loud enough to wake the dead (had Umbrella not already done that), she leapt into the abyss. Jill listened , but never heard the sound of her striking the bottom.

She turned to Barry. "What the fuck was that? And how'd you know its name?"

"I have no idea, but take a look at this." Barry, ignoring her second question, pointed to the name plate on the casket's lid.

JESSICA TREVOR

"Trevor" he said softly. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"_George _Trevor was a famous architect" Jill replied. "My dad was a huge fan of his work. He always said he was going to buy us an authentic Trevor house some day." _With other people's money; that's how he ended up in jail…_ "He liked to build all sorts of huge, weirdo mansions." She paused, realizing something. "Kinda like this place, actually. Come to think of it, it seems like he and…his whole family…vanished. Oh God." Jill looked from the casket to the abyss. "He had a daughter, it seems like…" She shivered. _It wasn't possible…was it?_

There was a switch inside the casket. Barry reached out a flicked it, careful not to disturb Jessica Trevor's rest anymore than her daughter already had.

There was a groan from the floor, and a pair of tiles slid back, just in front of the gate Lisa had entered through. Beneath the tiles was a stone stair case and a dark tunnel.

"Whaddya say we go take a look at what's down there?" Barry asked.

Jill nodded. "Sure. After you."


	22. Failure

Chapter 21: Failure

(MAT)

They stared at the sad body of what had once been the captain of STARS Bravo team.

"Damn it" Mat said softly, for what had to be the hundredth time. He didn't care. "Damn _it_!" He'd royally screwed up this time.

And now Enrico Marini was dead.

"We need to go" Rebecca said. She was trying to keep it together, trying hard not to look at Enrico's body, but she was also obviously having a hard time. "We need to find Richard, and-"

"Rebecca" Chris said softly. He had knelt down in front of Enrico, his back to them. "Rebecca, I'm sorry, but…Richard didn't make."

_Shit!_ Mat didn't say it, but the word sprang forward in his mind.

He hadn't said anything to Chris about Forest, past mentioning that Forest had shot him. But somehow, Chris had known without anything being said that his buddy was dead.

He heard Rebecca take a sharp breath and turned to look at her. His friend's shoulders were shaking, her head down. She was crying, and trying very hard not to show it.

Mat stepped in front of her, and put a hand on each of her shoulders. "Rebecca?" She nodded. "Rebecca, buddy, it's gonna be okay." She looked up and met his eyes. "It's gonna be okay. Trust me. Just stick with me, and we'll get out of this in one piece. I promise."

Rebecca nodded again. "Why are we the only ones who made it?"

_Good question_ Mat realized. _I have no idea_. "That doesn't matter. Maybe…maybe we still have things to do, yet. But we've gotta make it out now. We've gotta get through this…for everyone who didn't." He remembered the UBCS team he'd been with in the Hive. _Just keep fighting Umbrella_. That had been Rain's last request. He intended to honor it.

Chris suddenly straightened, then turned to face them.

"What is it?" Rebecca asked, her voice wavering, but more or less firm.

Chris held out a small photograph. They both leaned forward to get a look.

It showed four people (Rebecca gasped at one of them, an old man Mat didn't recognize). Then he _did_ recognize one. A tall, thin man with short cropped blonde hair…and dark sunglasses.

"We've been compromised" Chris said simply.

"Why didn't he say anything to me?" Mat wondered aloud. "I could've told Jill and Barry what was going on. They need to know to be on their guard."

"I almost died" Rebecca said softly. Mat and Chris both turned to look at her as she explained. "There was a trap; poison gas. Someone set it off, then left me inside. Someone in a STARS uniform." She shivered. "I guess panic kicked in, because I had an asthma attack at the same time, so I didn't inhale any of the fumes. Still, if Barry hadn't come along, I…I wouldn't be here."

Mat turned to Chris. He could save his fury for a later time; now: "We've got to find the rest of Alpha team. After that, we can go track down Captain Wesker. I think we _all_ might have something to say to him."

Chris nodded. "C'mon, let's go. We'll have to split up, in order to cover more ground." He pointed to the walkie-talkie on Mat's belt. "Can you tune to the STARS frequency?"

Mat nodded. "I've been part of a joint op for the past two days. I'm already there."

"Good." Chris turned to Rebecca. "What about you. Where's your radio?"

"Bill-I lost it" Rebecca said, a bit too quickly.

"Then why don't you come with me?" Chris suggested.

Rebecca cast a worried look at Mat. He shrugged and tried to smile disarmingly, inwardly wincing at the pain in his face.

"I'll be okay. Trust me. I've been alone most of the night. I kinda like it."

"Well, if you're sure…" Rebecca paused, then pulled something out of her medical bag. "At least let me treat your wound." Without waiting for a response, she unwound the bandage on Mat's shoulder, then sprayed it with the aerosol can she'd taken out.

Mat felt a tingling sensation in his arm, then looked down…and did a double take. The broken skin from his graze was gone, replaced by pale colored scar tissue. The nastier cut he'd suffered when he fell off the train was also healed over. "How did you-?"

"It's called Aquacure" Rebecca explained. "It's an Umbrella product. This whole house is full of all sorts of…interesting chemicals. Whoever was stocking this place, they sure knew how to get a bargain." She paused, then pulled something else out of her bag. "Here, I thought you might want this. I picked it up when that…thing hit you."

"Oh, thanks" said Mat, accepting the Browning. "In hindsight, probably not the most dashing rescue you've ever seen, was it?"

Rebecca smiled. "You were there. If you hadn't been, then I probably wouldn't be either." She looked down for a moment, and Mat thought he saw her face flush.

He turned to Chris. "Well, in all honesty, _you're_ the real hero here. Thanks." He paused, suddenly remembering something. "Let me pay you back. Take these." He pulled the handful of shotgun shells he'd offered Jill out of his pocket, offering them to Chris.

The STARS marksman took them readily, loading them into Richard's shotgun. "Thanks. I was about out. Where did you get these?"

"I came in with a shotgun, but one of those lizard things broke it in half last night. I guess I still had a few of the shells left over, though." He paused, studying a green colored shell Chris was about to load in. "Except that one. _That_ I must've grabbed off the train instead."

Chris stopped reloading and held the shell up to his eye. "It says this is a fragger shell." He turned to Mat. "This ought to open a more persistent door. Thanks!"

"Anytime" Mat replied, shrugging. _Damn, I wish I still had my Benelli. That might really have come in handy earlier._

"Let's go" said Chris, gesturing to Rebecca. "We've got to find Jill and Barry…before Wesker." He looked over at Mat one last time. "Why don't you start off down here, while we head back to the mansion? And be sure to check in, especially if you find anyone."  
"Sure thing" said Mat. He watched Chris and Rebecca walk away, then turned and headed in the opposite direction.

He felt unbelievably relieved. "Thank you. Thank you for letting me get to her in time." It wasn't quite a prayer, but it was as close as he'd ever come before. Still, he didn't have time to relax just yet. They still had a long few hours ahead of them. _Then, we can go home. I am _so_ ready to go home._


	23. Revelation

Chapter 22: Revelation

(WESKER)

Albert Wesker took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. _It's almost over_ he thought. _After everything, it's about to come to an end._

He pulled the disc out of the tray, then slid it into the small leather case he'd brought along specifically to hold it and its kin. The disc was a new, high end piece of data recording technology; he'd had to bring a special burner to use it with the mansion's antiquated security system. Still, all the extra effort had been worth it. Using the Digital Video Discs, he'd been able to gather much more data than he could have via video cassettes or CDs. With these DVDs, he'd been able to back up data from the previous night, before Alpha team had arrived. Bravo team hadn't made much of a showing, but then, so much the better. It would be so much easier to sell the BOWs if it was readily evident how lethal they were. He was particularly pleased by two different pieces of video; one showing Kenneth Sullivan's brief encounter with an undead researcher, and the one Joseph Frost's personal video recorder had caught of him being mauled by cerberri outside the mansion. Both had been difficult to acquire, but both had extreme value.

Wesker had also backed up as much data as he could from the Hive and UMTC. Of the two, he was more content with what he'd gleaned from the newer facility. He only wished he'd been able to collect video from the individual UBCS members. He was sure it would've made quite the highlight reel.

He was less happy with what he'd gained from UMTC. It was interesting to see what Marcus's puppets had managed against the first few USS teams (particularly his leeches; Wesker was going to have to revise his opinion of those). But considering that all had been defeated by an unknown man and a rookie police officer…

Wesker shook his head. There had been something…fascinating about Chambers. He couldn't quite place it, but some instinct told him she was of vital significance. At first he'd just assumed it was attraction (a feeling he'd not had for a long, _long_ time), but then he'd gotten the same feeling around Dawson. He suspected they could be put to some use…

_No. They'll have to die, along with the others. You've already made your choice, chosen your pupil. The one who you will take with you to the top._

Wesker's lips skinned across his teeth, the closest he ever came to a smile these days. He could hear footsteps behind him. One was light, the other heavier and slower, as if the second person was trying to stay behind the first.

He felt the vial Birkin had given him earlier; the one he'd said was in case of the worst. _Maybe, just in case…_

Something moved. Wesker caught it out of the corner of his eye. The tank to his left, the one containing his prize. Something had stirred inside it. Wesker looked down at the keyboard, typing a few commands.

ALERT

CRYO SYSTEM FAILING

"A bit premature, don't you think?" he muttered to the occupant of the cylinder. It gave no response.

Wesker shrugged again. _It's waking up? _That_ has some very…interesting possibilities._

(JILL)

She had her handgun at the ready before she even stepped into the final door. Somehow, intuitively, she'd known she was about to be in trouble.

Hunched over a computer at the far end of the equipment strewn room was a man in a dark colored STARS uniform.

"Captain Wesker?" Jill asked, confused. She hadn't been expecting to find _him_ here, but Chris. _What's going-_

CLICK.

The sound of a weapon cocking.

Behind her.

_Shit_.

Wesker glanced over his shoulder. "Oh, thank you Barry" he said distractedly, before turning back to whatever he was doing. _Covering up after Umbrella_ Jill realized.

She turned to face her teammate, finding the barrel of the Silver Serpent inches from her face, the dark opening like some sort of hellish abyss. "Whaddya know?"

She heard Wesker turn around behind her. "Oh, don't blame Barry. He's not a traitor; it's just that, if he doesn't do what I say, then…" The STARS captain smiled coldly. "Well, let's just say some very unpleasant things will happen to his wife and two daughters." He made a face, a mock sorrowful one. "And we don't want that, do we?"

Barry growled, deep in his throat. "Don't you give me a reason."

Wesker smiled again. "And don't _you_ be a hard dog to keep under the porch" he said cheerfully. He focused on Jill. "You know, it really is a shame. You've shown such promise. But, I've already made up my mind. You, I'm afraid, are excess baggage."

Suddenly, his Samurai Edge was up as well, aimed at her face.

"You bastard" she said coldly. "You traitorous, pathetic, low-down, _bastard_."

Wesker smiled again. "Well, that's not very nice." His thumb pulled back the Samurai Edge's hammer. "You know, I _do_ hate long goodbyes." His finger tensed on the trigger…

Jill felt a sudden explosion of pain in the back of her head, and the world suddenly went black.

(BARRY)

Wesker looked at him in confusion. "Why Barry, I didn't think you had so whole heartedly-"

"Shut the_ fuck_ up" Barry replied coldly, replacing the Silver Serpent in its chest holster. "Please, just…stop talking."

"Fair enough" said Wesker. "Now, what's Barry Burton's game? What are you planning?"

Barry knelt down, then as gently as he could lifted the unconscious Jill from the floor. "You didn't say you were gonna kill her. That was never the plan."

Wesker pursed his lips. "At what point did I give you the impression I _wouldn't_ kill her? I fully intended to, and that Dawson interloper. I would have had Chambers, but for the fact that you had to go play hero and save her annoying life." He must've seen the look of confusion on Barry's face, because he explained further. "This room is the main data hub for the mansion's computer network. I can access any system here. Including," he used one finger to push his dark glasses back on his nose, "CCTV. You've all made quite the little action movie, I must admit. I'm hope the corporate shark tanks I'll be screening this particular film for will appreciate all your hard work as much as I do." He smiled mockingly and actually _bowed_, a short, Shakespearean bending of the waist.

"Fuck you" Barry spat. "Fuck you, and your shark tank. You've set this whole thing up so you could do what? Make a damn _commercial_?"

Wesker made a face. "Well, I wouldn't put it quite like that, but…" He shrugged. "Now, what are you planning to do with Ms. Valentine?"

"I saw some cells back in the tunnels" Barry replied. "I'll lock her up, where she'll be safe. Got a problem with that?"

Wesker shook his head. "No. By all means, lock Jill away. I honestly don't care _what_ you do with her." There was a definitely dirty twist to Wesker's mouth when he said that. "But, when you're done, I want you to go wait upstairs for me." He paused. "Better yet, head back outside. I want you to secure my escape route."

"And then?" Barry asked, worried there might be more.

"Then," Wesker said, smiling again, this time an apparently genuine one, "I want you to enjoy your family. Now get a move on. Chris should be on his way here soon, and it won't do for him to see you two here."

_Chris?_ Barry wondered. _He's still alive? And Wesker wants him for some reason. _Once he got Jill taken care of, he'd-Do what? He couldn't risk upsetting Wesker, not when the STARS captain had his finger on the trigger of a gun capable of destroying his entire life.

_You're lucky_ Barry thought coldly. _If it weren't for that, you'd be a dead man._


	24. The Ultimate LifeForm

Chapter 23: The Ultimate Life-Form

(MAT)

There were many twists and turns in the underground Mat hadn't explored yet. He stepped into those now, still going as fast as he could. He knew he needed to be thorough, but he'd promised Rebecca he'd look out for her. He'd have a hard time doing that from underground…

He didn't encounter any monsters. It was almost as if someone had thrown a switch, turning off all of Umbrella's nightmares. _Wesker_ Mat decided. _He must've done…something so he could sneak around here unassaulted. That must've been how he murdered poor Captain Marini._

In one room, he _did_ find evidence of recent habitation. Were it not for the fact he was in a zombie infested hidden laboratory, he would have suspected he was in some homeless person's living space. There was evidence of a recent fire, and pieces of horribly gnawed and broken animals lay scattered about the room. And in one corner…

"Ugh" Mat coughed, looking down at the headless, horrifically decomposed body stashed there. Whoever this person had been (the body was too far gone for him to even tell gender), they had been dead for a long, long time.

On a table nearby was a small, leather bound book. Out of curiosity Mat picked it up, examining it in his flashlight.

Lisa

There was no other ornamentation.

Mat shrugged and put it in his pocket. It might come in handy, after all…

All the same, he left that room in a hurry. There was just something…wrong about it.

He rounded another corner, then saw a glowing computer monitor through a partially open doorway. He stepped through cautiously, P90 at the ready.

But the room was deserted.

There was a small, low end PC sitting at a single overcrowded desk. A command prompt was open on the screen.

RUN PROGRAM high-light_reel (Y/N?)

Mat hit the Y key, then took a step back as the wall of monitors behind the desk suddenly turned on, surprising him with their unexpected light.

"What the hell?" he muttered, his eyes darting from screen to screen.

One showed Kenneth Sullivan backing away from a zombie, firing his Samurai Edge uselessly into the thing's chest. Another showed Jill cautiously making her way down an empty corridor, only to have a pack of infected dogs leap through the windows. _I remember that_ he realized, recognizing himself a moment later as he shot down another dog before it could leap at Jill.

But there was more.

Jill and Barry confronted a reddish hewed zombie, blasting the quick moving monster with everything they had. Another, with a more recent time-stamp, showed them battling the monster he and Enrico had barely escaped the previous night. The time stamp on _that_ video was only twenty minutes old.

A monitor in the top left hand corner showed Wesker himself, sliding a thin knife into the eye socket of a zombie. A few seconds later (the videos were all being run at triple their speed, Mat realized) he saw Rebecca walk down the same hallway, and felt a growing sense of dread in his chest. _That's where he almost killed her_ he realized.

He watched the monster attack himself and Enrico from another perspective, saw huge claws and a large, whip-like tongue as the creature crippled the STARS Bravo captain. _Sorry, Captain. I let you down._

Then another video caught his eye. It had a time stamp from the previous afternoon, and showed Forest, walking down a hallway. Suddenly, he cried out in mute pain (there was no audio on any screen), clutching at his arm as he sank to his knees. Then Mat's eyes widened as dozens of small, slimy creatures slid out of the walls and onto the hapless STARS member's body. Forest writhed about in pain for a moment as the creatures engulfed him, then was still. A few seconds later (to Mat; the time stamp said thirty minutes had passed), Forest got back up and began walking down the hall again, an odd jerky motion to his gait.

"What the hell?" Mat wondered aloud, leaning forward…but the screen had changed.

Now it showed a dark room full of lab equipment, eerily lit by a bluish glow from several enormous glass capsules. The resolution was too small to be sure, but it looked as if there were _people_ inside the capsules…

Then someone walked into the room. Someone in a STARS uniform. He tapped at a keyboard a few times, and then the screens all went black.

PLAY-BACK TERMINATED

Mat hurriedly typed into the computer. He needed to bring up the live feed of that room. Almost…there! It was still occupied. Now, to figure out where he was…

Mat pulled up a three dimensional map of the mansion, using the computer's arrow keys to move around. There appeared to be several tunnels beneath the main house. One led to the smaller building (labeled RESIDENCE), while two others joined up; one from under the mansion, and one from the tunnels in which he stood.

"Gotcha!" Mat exclaimed. He pulled out his radio, his thumb pressing down on the TRANSMIT key. "Chris? This is Mat, over."

"Chris here. Any news? Over."

Mat felt a smile grow across his face. It was the first genuine one he'd made in what felt like ages. "I found him."

(CHRIS)

He and Rebecca took the narrow steps below the strange underground crypt two at a time, then dashed through the winding tunnels below the mansion. He'd told Mat to stay in the security room. He needed someone to make sure Wesker didn't leave, and he was confident he and Rebecca would be enough to keep the turn-coat STARS captain occupied. Besides, if they needed backup, Mat would know where they were…

Wesker was right where Mat had said he'd be, standing in a truly freakish laboratory full of enormous test tubes, each giving off an unearthly bluish light.

Chris heard Rebecca gasp and turned to see her staring at the contents of the nearest container. He couldn't make much out himself, but it looked to be roughly human shaped…and roughly eight feet tall.

"H-how?" Rebecca stammered, her eyes wide as she gaped at the monster.

Wesker chuckled quietly, and Chris cursed when he turned to see the other man's Samurai Edge aimed at his chest. _Damn, we've lost the element of surprise._ He hoped Mat could still see what was going on and would be ready to step in if things got out of hand…

"You're wondering how this creature could be here, after you saw it washed away in the Arklay River yesterday morning, correct?" Wesker asked, looking at Rebecca. She nodded dumbly; Chris had no idea what they were talking about. "The answer, of course, is that the monster you and your strange friend managed to defeat was only a test, a Proto-Tyrant, if you'll excuse a poor scientist his stupid humor."

"What, scientist?" Chris asked, pulling his eyes away from the monster and looking at Wesker. "You're a-"

"Chris, it is _very_ rude to interrupt" Wesker replied casually. "Still, I guess I owe you as much explanation as I do her. But first, let us take a look at this wonderful creation of mine."

He turned and tapped a few keys on the computer. Instantly the tank lit up.

"No" Rebecca said softly. "Not again."

The monster was pale grey, the color of dead skin. Only, Chris realized this thing had never been alive. It had been _created_ dead, put together in this very lab.

Its naked, genderless body was covered in thick, ropy muscle. Its right arm was as big around as Chris's thigh, and its clenched fist was larger than his face. Its left arm, on the other hand, was the more freakish. It was longer, the digits on the hand stretched out almost a foot and a half, the fingers ending in a long, then, bone-like claw.

Chris heard something thud. It took him a moment to recognize the sound as the beat of the creature's large, tumor-like heart, exposed on its muscular chest. The organ pulsed again, more quickly this time.

"It's waking up" Rebecca said urgently, looking over at Wesker. "If it gets out, it'll-"

Wesker smiled. "Run rampant. I'm well aware of the danger. In fact, that's why I've allowed you two to be here. I intend to let my little pet out for a final walk, before I destroy this entire mansion." He tapped the black case under one arm. "The data I've collected here should make me a _very_ wealthy man. And I owe it all to STARS. Were it not for the footage of you combating Umbrella's creations, I'd have had a much harder time making my exit."

"What do you mean?" Chris asked.

"Well, what better way to market these wonderful creatures than with a live demonstration?" Wesker replied, evenly.

"You used us for a damn _sales pitch_?" Chris demanded. "That's all we were to you?"

Wesker shrugged. "More or less. Some," he glanced at Rebecca, "more than others."

"How long?" she asked softly.

He shot her a confused look. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."

"How long have you been taking side jobs like this?" Chris explained, guessing her thought pattern. The question was foremost in his own mind.

Wesker laughed. It was not a pleasant sound. "Honestly, Chambers, I thought you were smart." He sighed, shaking his head. "And I expected more from you, Chris. You were one of _my_ men, after all. I picked the best of the best, and let poor Enrico have the rest." He grinned cruelly at Rebecca. "So sorry to burst your bubble."

Then he turned back to Chris. "You two don't listen, do you? I've _always_ been with Umbrella. Always. Ever since I was a young man, when I met Doctor Marcus." He looked over at Rebecca again. "I believe you met the good Doctor earlier. It was so considerate of you to take care of him for me. _That_ would have been quite a mess."

"You're-you're sick!" Rebecca stammered.

Wesker turned back to Chris. "Anyway, it was STARS, and the RPD before that, that were my side job. My, little piggies, shall we say. The STARS, much as I came to like them, were ultimately expendable. It was a shame, really." He sighed, shaking his head. "Some of you showed such promise."

"You planned this whole thing from the beginning, didn't you?" Chris asked.

"Essentially. I had always intended to use STARS in order to leave the company, although the outbreak of the Tyrant virus came as just as much a surprise to me as everyone else at Umbrella. I'm _still_ not sure how old Marcus did it…But yes, I always planned to use you, or use you up, as I saw fit." He shrugged. "Some of you were easier to manipulate than others. Enrico just needed a carrot to get him and his team into the Arklay Forest. Barry can be talked into doing _anything_ if he thinks it'll keep his family safe from nonexistent Umbrella hitmen." He looked at Rebecca pointedly. "You, dear, can be counted on to sacrifice anything for your teammates, while Jill Valentine is never short on forgiveness, even when she shouldn't be. I had everything worked out."

"But what about Mat? Why involve him?" Rebecca asked.

"Believe it or not, he was never a part of my plan. I hadn't requested his assistance, or the help of anyone else outside STARS. His involvement has made things a bit more interesting and his devotion to the STARS, _you_ in particular, was admirable, but _I_ certainly didn't want him here. You have Captain Enrico to thank for dragging him into this." Wesker paused, a look of false sorrow on his face. "Although, I hear he's no longer among the living. Such a shame, really."

"You killed him with your own dirty hands, you son of a bitch!" Chris shouted, his voice shaking in anger.

Wesker made a face. "'With my own hands'? No, don't be foolish. I used my gun. Just like _this_." Without any further preamble, Wesker leveled his gun and fired twice.

Chris braced himself for the impact, but it never came. From behind him, Rebecca let out a small gasp of surprise and dropped to the floor.

"No, Rebecca!" Chris shouted, turning toward her. _Oh God, she's not moving-_

"Stay where you are" Wesker said coldly, and Chris reluctantly stopped. Rebecca was unnaturally still… "I don't think you want to die just yet."

"What's your plan, you bastard?" Chris asked, his voice heavy with tightly controlled rage. Wesker had murdered poor Rebecca right in front of him in cold blood, had obviously been the one who killed Enrico. He was behind the death of Joseph Frost too, and Forest and Kenneth and everyone else. _You're gonna pay_ Chris vowed. _Oh, are you gonna pay._

"I've always been impressed by your skills, Chris. Of the STARS, it was you who I saw the most of myself in. Out of all of them, you I saw real potential in."

"So, what? You want me to help you? To join in whatever idiotic, selfish crusade you have planned?" Chris snorted. "You don't know me half as well as you think you do."

"You'd be surprised. I _have _done my homework. You were the first of two children to Craig and Cindy Redfield. Your father flew combat missions in Vietnam, then became a stunt pilot when he returned to civilian life. You were orphaned at fifteen when a horrific crash took the lives of both your parents. Since then you've cared for your little sister, Claire, making sure she stayed in school. You even began sending her a regular portion of your paycheck when _you_ joined the Air Force at nineteen. You became a police officer shortly after being honorably discharged, although you still send dear sister a check. Claire, who, by the way, is attending classes as the University of Wisconsin, that is, when she's not out motorcycling. _She_ intends to-"

"Okay, I get it" Chris said irritably. "You've researched me. But clearly you don't _know_ me." He gestured to the still form of Rebecca. "If you did, you'd know I could never go along with someone who'd murder my friends for their own personal gain. So take your offer, and shove it."

Wesker looked genuinely surprised. "Really? That's it, then? This is your decision?" He shrugged. "Fair enough. The least I could do is show you what you're missing."

He tapped the ENTER key on the keyboard behind him. The fluid inside the monster tank began to drain away. The creature's eyes, pure white and soulless, snapped open.

"What is that thing?" Chris asked.

"This…this is the ultimate combat life-form" Wesker said, grandiosely. "The pinnacle of evolution. The Tyrant." He smiled slightly. "It's also a meal ticket for the rest of my life."

Chris laughed. Despite everything that had happened, he couldn't help it. "So what, you're going to try and sell this ugly thing?" He snorted. "Wesker, you're an idiot. You've said you had a hand in making those things in the mansion. If you, then _you_ of all people should know they can't be controlled."

Wesker stepped toward the slowly draining tank, gazing at the stirring giant. "Chris," he said, shaking his head sadly, as if he pitied his former subordinate, "you'll never understand its magnificence. Its grandeur. Its-"

Suddenly, the monster lunged forward, its blade-like arm smashing through the tank's glass…and running through Wesker's gut. Tyrant shouldered its way out of the tank, lifting Wesker's twitching form higher and higher above the ground.

"Why?" he croaked, his voice wet as blood apparently entered his lungs.

With an off handed flick of its wrist, Tyrant cast Wesker aside. The traitorous STARS captain landed with a thud in a corner of the room. He did not move again.

Tyrant turned to face Chris, making its way purposefully toward him. He noticed that its lips had been cut away, and now it looked as if the hideous creature was grinning eagerly as it stalked toward him.

Chris reached over his shoulder, unslinging Richard's shotgun. "C'mon, you test tube freak!"

He fired two blasts at point blank range into the monster's chest. He saw shot impact on Tyrant's heart, but if it had any effect, there was no sign. Chris fired again, then lunged to the side as Tyrant swung its blade arm at him, shattering another tank, spilling viscous liquid onto the metal floor.

_There's gotta be some way to take this thing down_ Chris thought frantically, backing away. _It must have a weakness of some-_

Suddenly, the door swung open.

"Alright, you murderous bastard!" Mat shouted, raising his P90. "I want this one to hurt!" He looked around in confusion for a moment, as if unsure where Wesker was. Then he saw Tyrant, and Chris watched his eyes widen. "Oh God."

Tyrant balled up a huge fist and swung. Chris winced as Mat was propelled through the air, slamming into the opposite wall with a loud thud. Tyrant turned to face Chris, its odd corpse smile still in place as it began to come for him.

Then Tyrant stumbled, a series of small, round holes opening in its body. Chris heard bullets impact in the wall over his head as slowly, it sank to its knees, then fell on its face, unmoving.

Mat groaned and sat up, dusting himself off, the barrel of his P90 still smoking. "See, he's not so tough."

"Are you okay?" Chris asked, walking toward him.

Mat shrugged. "Well, I've been better. I'll have-Oh, no, how could I forget! Rebecca!"

They hurried over to the STARS medic's prone form, but she wasn't moving.

Chris put a hand on Mat's shoulder. "We have to go. We have to find Jill and Barry and-"

"I can't leave her here" Mat said quietly. "Not like this." His voice broke. "Dear God, not like this."

It was impractical, but Chris could see Mat was in shock. He wondered just how long he and Rebecca had known each other. "Okay" he said after a moment, putting his hands under Rebecca's shoulders. "Can you carry her?"

Mat nodded, but stopped suddenly, his eyes wide.

Chris followed his gaze down, to where, against all odds, Rebecca was stirring. She groaned and opened her eyes. "Chris? Mat? What happened? And where's Captain Wesker?"

"He was cast off by the ultimate life form." Rebecca gave him a funny look, and Mat just looked confused.

Then he wrapped his arms around Rebecca's waist and gave her a hug so tight it made _Chris's _sides hurt.

"I thought you were dead" he said quietly, over and over. "I thought I'd lost you. I thought I was the only one who was going to make it."

"You're in danger of that right now" Rebecca gasped, prompting Mat to let go. Tenderly she massaged her ribs. "There are gonna be some _nasty _bruises there. I'm glad I held onto my bulletproof vest. I almost took it off yesterday morning, but it looks like it came in handy after all." She looked over at Chris. "So Wesker's taken care of?"

He nodded. "Pretty thoroughly too, from what I say. It'd take more than a bulletproof vest to save his sorry ass."

"So, what do we do now?" The question came from Mat, who was helping Rebecca stand, but Chris could see it in her eyes as well.

"First, we find Jill and Barry." Chris smiled, slightly. "Then, we get the hell out of here."


	25. The Choices of Barry Burton

Chapter 24: The Choices of Barry Burton

(BARRY)

He stood outside for a grand total of ten minutes, the cold, early morning air biting at his sweaty skin. The sun was just starting to come up over the mountains, and the world was taking on the blue half-darkness it did at this time of day. Around the mansion, nothing stirred, but he kept his Samurai Edge ready, just in case.

After ten minutes of standing at the mansion's front door, thinking about what Wesker had had him doing, he came to a decision.

"To hell with it" he said firmly. He hoped God would take care of his family. He hoped his team (especially Jill) could someday come to forgive him for what he'd done. But he could still make things right…

"I have a score to settle" he said, turning around and opening the large, wooden door.

He headed back down, into the mausoleum he and Jill had discovered earlier, where they'd battled the strange monster Wesker had called Lisa. She was still gone; presumably her head first dive into the abyss had been the end of the hideous walking tank.

He headed down the narrow steps below Jessica Trevor's final resting place, deeper and deeper beneath the mansion.

He heard voices around the corner, inside the lab he'd last seen Wesker in. He paused, checking his weapons. The Samurai Edge was still fully loaded, and, having not fired the weapon for most of the night, he still had two magazines left for the burst-fire magnum. As for the Silver Serpent, he only had what was loaded in: six .44 magnum cartridges. Sighing, he holstered the revolver and gripped the Samurai Edge with both hands. He preferred the gun he'd built himself, but there it was too slow, anyway. He suspected he'd need to have a decent rate of fire if he intended to take Wesker down.

He heard the sound of breaking glass, followed by a pair of gunshots (_shotgun_ he realized) from the lab and hurried forward, rounding a corner…and realizing he was farther away than he thought he'd been. There had been an equipment room on the way to the lab, a maze of loaded down tables full of all manner of unknown machines. He'd need to navigate it if he was going to get to the lab.

He heard another blast from the shotgun, followed shortly thereafter by unintelligible shouting. A few seconds after that, he heard a long burst of weapons fire (_submachine gun, I don't know what make_). After that, silence.

_Oh shit_ Barry swore at himself. _I'm too late_.

He hurried toward the lab even still, ready to burst in and relieve Wesker of his head. He could hear talking from inside, two men talking, followed by a third voice. He could only hear the faint sounds; the lab door was too thick for him to make out any words…until he flung the it open, Samurai Edge at the ready.

"-get the hell out of here" Chris was saying, and for a moment Barry thought the STARS marksman was talking to him. _Great, they know you're a traitor. Now what?_ Then he noticed the puzzled looks on Chris, Chambers, and Dawson's faces, and realized he'd succeeded in taking the room by surprise.

"Funny" Chris said, a grin spreading across his face. "We were just talking about you, Barry."

"Where's Wesker?" he demanded, scanning the room. His eyes fell on the stiff, disgusting looking creature lying on the floor near some broken glass cylinders. He recognized it as having been inside the tube behind Wesker the last time he'd been inside the lab, but whatever the thing had been in life, it was dead now.

"That…thing killed him" Chris explained, pointing to where the STARS captain was slumped in a corner, blood pooling around his still body. "It would've gotten me too, if it hadn't been for Dawson."

The SWAT kid grinned sheepishly and looked down at the floor. "Oh, I wouldn't go so far as to say that. You probably could've taken it down without my help. I just got lucky, is all."

Barry only listened with half an ear. He approached the dead STARS captain slowly, in a daze. _It's…it's over_ he realized after a minute. Deciding to kill Wesker and actually seeing his body weren't the same thing, he realized. _Wesker's dead, which means your family…_No. There was still a chance.

He hurried forward, kneeling down beside Wesker's dead body, patting him down. He found spare magazines for the Samurai Edge, as well as a silencer and a silver colored mag he assumed carried the necessary subsonic rounds. He also found a pair of small, collapsible knives, with thin, wickedly sharp blades, and a single flash-bang grenade. He shoved that into the pocket of his vest, figuring it would come in handy later.

But there was no radio, at least not with one that could reach all the way back to Raccoon City. Which meant either Wesker had been calling out using the mansion's nonexistent phones…_Or you got majorly played_ he realized, angrily. Wesker had manipulated him so easily, using him to do his own dirty work. _Damn you!_

"Barry, you okay?" Chris asked, sounding concerned. Barry turned to see him stepping forward, Chambers and Dawson standing a little ways back, watching him warily. _They're scared of me_ he realized. _They don't know what exactly has happened, but they know something isn't right here._

"Wesker lied to me" Barry said calmly, remembering what the STARS captain had said to him earlier. _You'll find I do that from time to time._ Bastard. "He said he had people outside my house. People with guns. If I didn't help him, he'd-they'd…" His voice trailed off after a moment. Even after everything that had happened, the conclusion was still too real for him to talk about. "But he lied. There was no way for him to contact his people. No way for him to tell them to go through with his plan, or to call them off. It was all a scam. He took advantage of my one weakness and used it to make me a traitor just like him."

"No, you're not like him at all" Chambers said, compassion in her voice. "Captain Wesker took advantage of your love for your family. If he hadn't, he would never have been able to use you against us. And even still, you saved my life when he tried to kill me."

"And you came bursting in here looking like you had a score to settle" Chris added. "Even knowing what it might cost you, you were ready to risk it for your friends." He smiled and stuck out his hand. "As far as I'm concerned, you're no traitor."

Barry took Chris's hand. "Thank you" he said softly. "Thank you for understanding." He looked up, back in control. "Now, what's our plan?"

"Oddly enough, about a third of it was completed when you burst in here" Chris replied. "Now we just need to find Jill, signal Brad, and then we can be out of here for good."

"I know where Jill is" Barry and Dawson said at roughly the same time. He paused and looked at the kid from SWAT in confusion.

"How do _you_ know?" he asked.

"I ran past her cell on the way here" Dawson replied. He turned to Chris. "She's locked up in some sort of jail cell down here in these tunnels. But the lock is electronic. I couldn't figure out how to open it."  
"A jail cell?" Chris repeated. "How'd she get there?"

"I had to knock her out" Barry said uncomfortably. "It was the only way I could think of to keep Wesker from killing her. It was the only place I knew she'd be safe. Wesker didn't care where she was, so long as she was out of the way. Said he'd let us go so long as we didn't interfere."

"That's not true" Chris replied. "Wesker was planning to blow the entire mansion up."

"What?" Again, Barry and Dawson spoke in unison.

Chris nodded. "He said there was a self-destruct sequence inside the labs. Probably some sort of fail-safe. He was going to take what he needed to make himself rich, then blow the whole place sky-high, along with all of us."

Dawson whistled softly. "Jeez. We came _that_ close." He looked over at Chris. "I may not have been able to open Jill's cell, but I'll bet the special shotgun shell I gave you could do the job easily enough."

Chris nodded, pulling a green shotgun shell out of his pocket. "You know, you might be onto something there. Why don't we give it a try?"

Dawson had been right about knowing where Jill was locked away. They followed him down the dark corridors of the underground, eyes alert for any sign of movement. Just because none of Umbrella's freak-show horrors had made their presence known didn't mean they weren't out there, waiting…

"Jill? Are you still there?" Dawson called out as he and Chris stepped toward one of the long rows of cells. Barry and Chambers stepped back, still watching for trouble.

"Mat?" Jill called back. "Is that you? What happened?"

"It's a long story" Chris answered, motioning to Dawson. "Now, if you'd be so kind as to step back, we can get you out of there."

"Chris!" Jill exclaimed. "You're alive!"

"Sure enough" he replied. "Now, will you please-?"

"Right."

Chris worked the pump on Richard's shotgun, clearing the internal magazine. Then he loaded in the green shell from Dawson, wracked the pump, and raised the weapon to his shoulder. "Ready?" he called out.

"Ready" Jill replied.

Chris fired the shotgun at the lock on the door, blasting it apart with a loud BANG. He slung the weapon back into the holster built into the back of his uniform, then nodded to Dawson. Together, they kicked the cell door down.

"Chris!" Jill exclaimed, stepping forward, taking the STARS marksman's hand. "I'm so glad to see you! I thought you'd died back in the forest!" She turned to Mat. "And I assume you led him here? Thanks. Without your help, I'd still be stuck down here." She looked out the newly open cell door. "Barry?"

He nodded. "Sorry, Jill. I-I didn't have a choice, like I told you. But everything I did, I thought I was doing for the right reasons." He paused, then met her eyes. "Can you forgive me?"

Jill smiled. "You came back for me. As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing to forgive." She turned to Chambers. "And who are you?"

"Rebecca Chambers. I'm the medic for STARS Bravo team."

Jill nodded. "That's right! You're the new girl. Well, I wish we were meeting under better circumstances…"

"Speaking of which" Dawson said. "I assume you have some sort of plan for getting us out of here. I mean, this is a nice place to visit and all, but I don't want to _live_ here."

Chris nodded. "Now that we've got Jill, we can signal Brad and have him fly back and pick us up."

"More helicopters?" Mat groaned.

"That's a great idea" Jill said, apparently ignoring him. "How are we going to signal Brad?"

"Well, we could use my radio…" Chris began, then looked down at the smashed piece of equipment on his hip.

"You know, at the rate we're going through those stupid things, Radio Shack is gonna _love_ us" Mat commented wryly.

Chris turned to Jill. "We could use yours."

She shook her head. "Sorry. Satan's houseplant put an end to that for me."

Chris turned to Dawson and Chambers. "What about you two?"

"I already told you, I lost mine in the forest" Chambers answered.

"Mat?"

The SWAT officer grinned sheepishly. "Funny you should mention that…"He held up the radio. "Mine's old one got smashed, but I came across another one last night."

"Great!" Chris replied. "We can use his radio to-"

"Unfortunately, the battery was almost dead when I got it" Dawson continued. "It had enough juice to tell you where Wesker was, but that was the end of it."

Jill swore irritably. "Does _anyone_ have a functioning radio?" She looked over at Barry. "I heard you on your earlier. Tell me it still-"

Sadly, he shook his head. "No. Sorry. The transmitter's all screwy. It can't send a clear message."

"Great" Chris said. "So, how are we supposed to tell Brad where we are? Build a fire?"

Suddenly an idea occurred to Barry. It was distasteful, but… "I think I might know where we can get some flares. Follow me."

He led them back upstairs, to the quiet corner where he'd tucked Kenneth's body away. Chambers gasped when she saw what had happened to her former teammate. Chris made a face as well.

"Funny" said Jill. "This is where it all began…" She looked over at Barry. "Now, what's your plan?"

Barry knelt down beside Kenneth and began to rummage through his pockets. At last, he pulled out what he was looking for: a large, orange colored gun. "This was Kenneth's flare gun" he explained. "It has a couple shots left. If we can get high enough above the trees, we can get his attention."

"Then let's get to the roof" said Chris. "We can signal Brad from there, and be home within the hour."

"Hold on" said Chambers. They all turned to look at her.

"Rebecca?" Chris asked. "Something to add?"

"Captain Wesker was going to blow this place up" she replied. "I was thinking…maybe that's not such a bad idea."

"But this place is evidence of what Umbrella's been doing" Jill protested. "Without this place, we have no proof of what's been going on."

"That's not true" Chambers replied, pulling a small, leather bound book out of her pocket. "We-_I_ found this inside another Umbrella facility. It details human and animal tests dating back before I was even born. There's enough in here to implicate them in everything that's been going on." She put the book back in her pocket, then continued. "Besides, this is where the infection started. This is where the forest murderers came from. If we can destroy this place-"

"We'll have completed our mission!" Dawson exclaimed. He turned to Chris, Jill, and Barry. "Think about it. Wesker knew how important this data was to Umbrella. We can put an end to this nightmare here and now. What do you say?"

"Let's do it" said Jill after a moment's consideration. Then she paused and looked over at Chris. "Unless you have something else in mind."

_That's right_ Barry realized. With Wesker dead, Chris earned a nice little field promotion.

Chris nodded. "Let's do this" he said after a moment.

"Great" said Chambers. "I'll go back down and-"

"Not alone, you won't" said Dawson. "This may have been your idea, but I'm going with you, whether you like it or not."

"But, you're hurt-" Chambers protested.

"Not so much anymore" Dawson replied. "You patched me up well enough I feel like I could keep going for a couple more hours, at least. Let's take this place down."

"Okay" said Chris. "Rebecca and Mat will arm the mansion's self-destruct system. We'll work our way up to the roof and see if we can get in contact with Brad." He paused, then looked over at Chambers. "Try to give us enough time to get away before the whole building goes up."

She smiled. "I'll do my best." Then she and Dawson turned and headed back toward the passage to the lab.

Chris turned to Jill and Barry. "C'mon" he said. "We've got a flight to arrange."


	26. Echo of the Darkness

Chapter 25: Echo of the Darkness

(REBECCA)

Mat led her down a different tunnel than the one she and Chris had used to enter the mansion's secret basement. It was down from the cells Jill Valentine had been locked in; Mat said it connected back to the tunnels they'd found Captain Marini inside about an hour earlier.

"There's a computer hooked with a mapping tool back this way" he'd explained. "From there, we can probably figure out where the self-destruct system is."

The tunnels were dark and damp and, fortunately, deserted. For whatever reason, it didn't look as if the infected had gotten down this far…

Rebecca stiffened suddenly, noticing out of the corner of her eye that Mat had done the same. A soft shuffling noise was coming from somewhere up ahead. A shuffling, it seemed, they had both (through different means, different experiences she could only guess at) come to associate with Umbrella's scientifically created walking dead.

"Do we sneak past?" Rebecca whispered.

Her eyes had adjusted to the almost total darkness, and she saw him shake his head. "No. It's not worth the risk. We've come too far to get infected now. We'll have to put this poor soul down." She heard a rasp as he drew his handgun. "I'll go. Watch my back."

She nodded, realizing he couldn't see her. At any rate, he was too far away for her to verbally acknowledge without alerting the zombie he was stalking. Instead, she drew her Samurai Edge, making sure there weren't any infected stalking _him_.

She saw pale _something _up ahead and realized this was the zombie they'd both heard; possibly one of the first created. It was old and obviously had been dead for awhile, its clothes having completely rotted away into nothing. She was already used to the foul stench of decay, but she suspected she would still have noticed this particular infected's odor had she been any closer.

She lost sight of Mat in the near complete darkness, his dark blue uniform blending into the black. _Not like me_ she realized dimly. _With this stupid vest, I stick out like a glow stick_. Still, that stupid vest had already saved her life once today, and she was considering holding onto it once she got back to Raccoon City. _After you leave the RPD_. That was still her plan. For better or worse, she was _done_ (with a capitol D) with police work. Period.

She saw a brief flash of light as Mat fired his weapon and heard the corresponding grunt from the zombie who suddenly had its head blown off. But in that brief flash of light, she saw something else.

"Mat!" she shouted. "Behind you!"

She thought she saw him spinning around, looking in the direction of this new threat. But it was too dark, and it was too well hidden.

Rebecca slid her hand down the side of her handgun, activating its rail mounted flashlight. Suddenly Mat was standing in the center of a bright circle of light. The beam came from behind him, so Rebecca knew it wouldn't adversely affect his eyesight. But it didn't do any favors for the large, spindly looking insectoid creature standing less than two feet away.

Mat opened fire immediately, his handgun barking four times in quick succession, sounding to Rebecca less like controlled shots and more like panicked trigger pulling. Still, it got the job done. With a surprised sounding shriek, the monster bug collapsed back into a pile of old equipment, landing with a clatter amongst the forgotten tools.

"C'mon!" Mat shouted. A second later he had unslung his submachine gun, clicking on the weapon's flashlight. There was no point in trying to be invisible now. Now, they just needed to be fast.

And fast they were, dashing through the winding, junk ridden tunnel as quickly as they could. Rebecca was surprised. After everything they'd been through, she was surprised they still had the energy.

She heard something knock over a table behind her as they ran, but didn't stop. Hopefully there would be a door or something up ahead, which they could duck through and-

Something grabbed her by the head, just below her chin, and yanked her into the air. Rebecca let out a cry of surprise as she suddenly found herself dangling several feet above the ground.

"Rebecca!" she heard Mat shout from somewhere down below her. His flashlight was darting around, trying to find her. Then she heard a loud shriek from the same direction, and realized Mat had his own problems. She'd have to free herself.

Rebecca saw something fast dart forward, past her face, and by some miracle managed to grab the blade-like appendage before it could slit her throat. It tried to jerk away, but she held on literally for dear life, the sharp edges cutting into the palm of her hand.

In the end, there was nothing for it. Rebecca pulled her handgun free of its holster, aiming blindly above her head. She pulled the trigger three times and was immediately rewarded with a pained shriek…and the sudden sensation of freefall as the monster released her.

_Oh, this is going to-_

Rebecca managed to land on her butt, absorbing as much of the impact as she could. Still, she suspected she'd bruised her tail bone at least. Hopefully, she'd be able to keep moving.

A hand grabbed her. Mat.

"C'mon" he urged again. "Before more of these weirdoes show up."

There was a door about twenty feet away. They hurried toward it, Mat jerking the door open and waving her through before entering himself and slamming it closed. Safely on the other side, they paused a moment and reloaded their weapons. Mat slung the SMG and drew his handgun, changing magazines in it as well before pulling his flashlight off his belt and clicking it on.

"Not much farther" he said, heading forward.

He hadn't been kidding.

The terminal he'd mentioned earlier wasn't much to look at (certainly nothing compared to what she was used to in college), and for a moment Rebecca was confused. Surely Umbrella could afford better that _this_. She suspected it was still running Win 95, for crying out loud!

Mat stepped forward, setting his handgun on the table beside the monitor as he began to type. "This shouldn't take long-_There_!" he exclaimed, pointing to a flashing dot on a map of what Rebecca realized was the underground.

After studying it for a moment, she came to a happy realization. Mat nodded, grinning.

"That's right" he said happily, happier than he'd sounded since he realized she was alive. "It's close. And we won't have to go through that awful tunnel again. This should be a piece of cake."

"We just need a way to get hold of Chris and tell him to be ready" Rebecca answered.

Mat made a sour face. "I hadn't thought of that. Well, he knows what we're planning, right? _Surely_ he also knows to get ready to move."

_I hope so_. But there was nothing they could do about it. They just needed to stick to the plan, and trust Chris and the others would have things taken care of. _Otherwise, we're gonna be in trouble_.

They headed back into the darkness, heading away from the security office. "Careful" Mat said over his shoulder. "I haven't been down this way yet, so I have _no_ idea what we might run into."

Amazingly, they didn't have any run-ins with more of the strange, wall crawling bugs, for which Rebecca was heartily thankful. She was gaining a truly heartfelt loathing for all insects and things that crawled.

They burst through the large, double metal doors in unison, swinging their weapons in opposite arcs across the new room. "Clear!" they both yelled, within nanoseconds of each other.

The room they stood in was large, easily the size of the main hall. It was also starkly white, a contrast all the more evident given the fact that this seemed to be the only room in the underground where the lights were still on. One end of the room had a small guardrail, separating it from a deep chasm, the bottom invisible even with the lights above it on.

"I wonder where that goes?" Mat muttered, stepping forward and looking over the edge.

Rebecca wasn't paying much attention to him. Her eyes were focused on the enormous super-computer taking up an entire wall in the room. The screen itself was nearly three times as wide as _she_ was, and twice as tall. "Now _that's_ more like it."

"What?"

Rebecca chuckled. "This is more the sort of computer I'd have expected Umbrella to employ. Big and ostentatious."

"Not to mention obnoxious" Mat replied. "Well, I'm afraid that thing's beyond my expertise. Think you can take a crack at it?"

Rebecca nodded. "It's not much different from one of the computers a lab I worked at in college had. _Bigger_, but the OS itself looks to be the same. It shouldn't take me very long."

"Okay, then I'll watch your back" Mat replied. "Just be sure and give us plenty of time. Remember, we're gonna have to find our way back through that maze after we're done here, and then we'll have to get upstairs in a hurry."  
"Oh, I doubt that'll be an issue" Rebecca replied, pointing to the large metal doors she'd noticed when they entered. "That elevator ought to do the trick pretty nicely."

"Awfully convenient" Mat muttered. "I'd better check it out."

Rebecca watched as he stepped forward, pressing the call button for the elevator. He stood motionless for about thirty seconds, then shrugged. "Well, this could take a while. I'll explore the rest of the room; see if we can't find anything else useful."

Rebecca only listened with half an ear. All her concentration was bent on the computer screen. _Almost_…

She stiffened slightly. Someone had said her name.

"_Rebecca._"

It was Mat. And he sounded anxious.

She turned to find him next to the guardrail, staring up at the ceiling, a look of horror on his face. His gun arm was slackly at his side, but he was still pointing the flashlight in his left hand more or less up, and its beam was being reflected on dozens of tiny, smooth globs on the far wall.

"No" she said softly. "Mat, get away from there!"

The leeches on the far wall began to move, slithering up toward the ceiling, where, Rebecca realized, Mat was staring up at their cousins.

"Mat!" she shouted again.

He started, raising his handgun and firing at the ceiling. But for every leech he managed to shoot out of the air, half a dozen more dropped down to the floor around him. He backed away, firing as they slowly began to slither toward him.

"Rebecca!" he shouted, half turning toward her. "Rebecca, get out of here!"

"Mat, watch out!" she shouted back.

Several of the leeches had joined together, forming one of the wobbly, drunken looking amalgamations she'd fought underneath Umbrella's old management training facility. Mat kept firing at the individual leeches, splattering them before they could reach him. But there were simply too many. Several began to slide up his leg, and he had to stop shooting in order to ward them off. Then, like an evil tide, the half formed leech man swept over him, knocking him off his feet. In a blink he was gone, absorbed into their mass.

"No!" Rebecca screamed. _He can't be dead. Not now!_ _You and Billy survived being trapped inside one of those things_ she reminded herself. _But you and Billy didn't have any open sores, either._ If any leeches found their way onto the bandage over Mat's arm…She needed to act quickly.

Rebecca reached into her medical bag, pulling out one of the small, plastic containers she'd mixed together back in the chemical room. She couldn't tell how many leeches were between her and Mat, but she also didn't have much choice.

She hurled the plastic cylinder into the seething mass, drawing her handgun and aiming at it as it flew through the air. The weight of the leeches had knocked Mat down, but she could still see an abnormal lump where they covered him. She needed to aim just right…

For the second time in two hours she impressed herself with her marksmanship skills, shooting the plastic container when it was just above the leech mob. Just as they had against the giant plant, it exploded in a brilliant flash, igniting the topmost layer of leeches, their bodies popping in the sudden heat. The ones below burst into flames and the mob began to slide apart, as if the leeches who made it up suddenly realized they had better places to be.

Mat groaned and stood up. He looked awful, covered from head to toe in slim, and a few leeches still clung to him. _But, thank God, he's alive_.

He grunted as he pulled a leech off his shoulder, then hurled it disgustedly into the pit below them. Then he looked up at her. "Thanks."

"Not a problem" Rebecca replied. "It's what friends are for."

There was a DING from behind her, and she turned to see the elevator doors sliding open…and a man stepping out.

"Who are you?" she asked simply, confused. There was no way he'd been here _all night_, was there? Surely one of the STARS or Mat would've run into him by now.

She heard a sharp intake of breath from Mat, and half turned to see a look of confusion on his face. "You're dead!" he shouted.

"Oh, I beg to differ" replied the newcomer, a slight, Germanic accent to his voice making him sound like the villain from a World War Two movie. "As you can see, I'm very much alive."

"I watched you die!" Mat persisted, anger creeping into his voice. "Rain shot you, and then we blew up the Hive! How are you-?"

The newcomer chuckled. "You destroyed my physical body in the labs, true. But, with the power of the Alpha, what need have I of it anyway? The Alpha leech survived, and so have I. But I have no more use for you, Mr. Dawson." He chuckled, then turned his attention to Rebecca. "Ms. Chambers, _you_, on the other hand, I've been wanting to meet for several hours now."

"How do you know who I am?"

"He's using the leeches somehow" Mat explained, stepping forward, toward her. "It's some kind of link I don't know how it works, only that some weirdo in a funny looking robe could do it to." He paused. "He knows everything about us, or at least everything about us any of the people who've been infected knew."

"Kenneth and Kevin" Rebecca realized. "Edward too."

The newcomer nodded. "That's right. Forest Speyer, and Joseph Frost as well, plus Vance Drew, Alfonso Warner, and Olga Danilova. I believe you were friends with her, weren't you, Mr. Dawson?"

"For my part" Mat replied coldly. "And she's dead because of you!"

"It's a hard thing, loosing friends" the newcomer replied. "It hurts a great deal. Isn't that right, Ms. Chambers?"

_Richard _Rebecca thought; of all the Bravos, he'd been the one she'd most easily connected with. And she'd been sure Mat been dead for several hours now. The holes she'd felt had been raw sores. "Yes" she said softly.

The newcomer smiled. "It is, indeed. But I've known suffering at too. You killed my master. His loss was a great and crippling blow."

"So what, we're supposed to feel sorry for you?" Mat demanded. "In case you've forgotten, Cain, _you've_ killed quite a few people as well. Doesn't that make us even?"

The strange man (_Cain_) laughed cruelly. "You think the lives of your mercenary friends are in some way comparable to my master's? Don't make me laugh! He was worth a hundred, a _thousand_ of their sorry lives!" He shrugged. "But, Mr. Dawson, it wasn't _you_ who killed him. So, if you'll just step aside…"

Mat had his SMG off his back in a second, a round chambered. "Not a chance."

Cain smiled coldly. "I was hoping you'd feel that way."

Without warning, his arm shot forward, growing impossibly long. It slammed into Mat, knocking him backward. With a backhanded swipe, Cain sent Rebecca sprawling as well.

"Ahhhh" he said, sounding immensely satisfied. "You have _no_ idea how long I've been waiting to do that."

Rebecca stood back up, aiming her handgun at Cain's head. She fired, but Cain's face simply split apart, her bullets passing harmlessly through.

"You're not-"

"No, Ms. Chambers, I'm no longer human" Cain finished. He slammed a fist into her stomach, lifting her into the air, knocking the wind out of her before slamming her back down headfirst to the unforgiving metal floor. "Now, please excuse me while I beat Mr. Dawson to death. You have no inkling as to the loss I've suffered. But maybe after you've watched him die, you'll begin to understand."

Rebecca lay on the floor, her vision blurry, her eyes having a hard time focusing. She could make out the dim shape of Cain as he advanced on another figure, shakily rising to his feet, who she assumed was Mat.

Mat tried to fire his SMG into Cain at point blank, but the leech man smacked the automatic weapon away, then slammed a hammer-like fist into Mat's gut. The leeches in Cain's hand swarmed around Mat's body, allowing Cain to lift him up and pin him to the wall. He pulled Mat back, then slammed him against the wall once, twice, three times, until she saw him stop moving. Slowly, his body began to lose its human qualities, dissolving into a leech covered mass.

"Now you die" Cain said simply, raising his other hand, already forming it into an oversized fist. He cocked it back, ready to smash Mat's head against the wall until it was nothing but a bloody pulp.

Rebecca willed herself to her feet, one hand clutching at her long suffering ribs, her skull pounding, her vision still not very clear. But then again, for what she was about to do, she really didn't need to.

Cain didn't react when the open plastic container rolled to a stop at his heel. He probably didn't even feel it. But he _did_ feel when the chemicals inside met up with the oxygen in the room and ignited.

Rebecca saw the sudden flames engulf Cain, and knew she'd but her chemistry skills to good use. Napalm wasn't particularly hard to make for someone with the know how; it was just extremely dangerous and unstable. She was lucky she hadn't burned herself to a crisp putting it together.

Cain looked down at himself, as if confused as to why he was suddenly on fire. He let go of Mat, who slid bonelessly to the ground, then stumbled back, leaving a trail of burning leeches with every step.

Rebecca fell back to the floor, her head swimming, her vision blurring again. She watched Cain step toward her, even as his body continued to deteriorate. An animalistic growl escaped his throat as he reached a burning hand toward her, leeches dropping to the ground from the extending limb.

Then his body shuddered again, a huge hole exploding out of his stomach. Another appeared in his chest, and at last Cain collapsed, the leeches which had made up his body fleeing before they could be engulfed in flames.

Rebecca saw Mat leaning against the wall, his handgun leveled one-handed. She saw him holster the 9mm, and start toward her. Then her vision dimmed.

(MAT)

It was hard going, but he managed to stumble his way over to Rebecca. Clumsily he knelt down beside her, feeling for a pulse. His whole body was on fire with pain, his mind numb. He didn't feel much more than a small flicker of relief when he found her heartbeat.

His shaking hands reached out, unsteadily opening her medical bag. His eyes were more or less clear, and he managed to find a bottle full of pain pills. Hastily he dry swallowed three, followed by what appeared to be caffeine in capsule form.

He wasn't sure how long it took the pills to kick in, but suddenly he felt wide awake and light as a feather. He knew that was only temporary; soon, the wall between himself and the pain would break down, and he would be in agony like he'd never known before.

Until then…

He stood up and made his way over the to the computer terminal. A few keystrokes later, a familiar mechanical voice informed him the unabortable self destruct sequence had been activated.

Mat smiled dopily, then turned back to Rebecca.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to carry you after all" he told his unconscious friend, then grabbed her under her arms and, as gently as he could, began to drag her into the elevator. Once inside, he hit the only other floor. "Straight to the top" he muttered; in his heavily medicated state, that was pretty funny.


	27. EscapeInterrupted

Chapter 26: Escape…Interrupted

(Chris)

It was windy up on the roof. That didn't make it any easier for the three STARS officers to catch their breath after the long run up the winding staircase to the top of the mansion.

_Still, we're here_ Chris decided. _That counts for something_.

Barry held Kenneth's emergency flare in one hand. With a flick of his wrists, he tore the top off, igniting the chemicals within and causing it to burn like an enormous sparkler.

Jill's radio chirped a few tense minutes later. "Hello? Is anyone down there? This is Brad Vickers from the RPD. I can see your signal. Hold on. I'm starting my approach. These winds are gonna make things tricky, but I should be able to reach you before I run out of fuel." The cowardly STARS pilot sounded genuinely relieved to be hearing from them. Chris was almost ready to forgive him his past trespasses. Almost.

Then a new voice sounded, echoing across the forest below.

"THE SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE HAS BEEN ACTIVATED. THIS SEQUENCE CANNOT BE ABORTED."

Chris, Jill, and Barry exchanged smiles.

"Sounds like they did it" Jill said. "I hope they hurry up. I don't like the sound of this 'can't be aborted'."

A moment later, the elevator doors at the far side of the roof slid open.

"Hmph" Barry grumped. "Looks like they found the _easy_ way up here."

Chris started to laugh…but the sound died on his lips when the doors slid open. Something had gone very, very wrong.

Mat was standing in the center of the elevator, breathing hard, his entire body looking as if it might have been a solid bruise. He was covered in a thin coating of some unknown slime, as if he'd been swallowed by the blob, only to have it decide it didn't like the way he tasted and spit him back out.

Rebecca was leaning heavily against him, an arm over his neck, her sides heaving, her head down. She didn't look good, even worse for wear than Mat…

"Somebody help me!" Mat shouted, stumbling out of the elevator. Despite his obvious injuries, he didn't sound like he was in very much pain. _Shock?_ Chris wondered.

All three STARS hurried forward.

"Help me set her down" Mat said, desperation in his voice. "We've got to check her bag; get this taken care of…"

They laid Rebecca out on the mansion's flat roof. Jill hurriedly began to go through the medical bag at her side, pulling a syringe out and jabbing it into the crook of Rebecca's arm.

"Morphine" she explained to a distressed looking Mat. She pulled another syringed out of the bag, sticking it into Rebecca's neck. "And this should wake her up."

"Shouldn't we leave her out?" Barry asked, looking over at Jill, concerned.

Jill shook her head. "With Joseph dead, she's the only medic we've got. She'll have to know what to do-"

Rebecca suddenly gasped, sitting up, and scaring them all far worse than any monster made by Umbrella.

"Welcome back" Jill said. "How do you feel?"

"Do I have to answer?" she moaned weakly. "Oh, my _head_…" She paused, feeling at her temples. "It doesn't hurt. You gave me-"

"Morphine" said Jill. "Sorry, but I wasn't sure what else to do."

Rebecca smiled weakly. "It's…okay. I'm just having a hard time thinking, and…I don't know where I am."

"You're on the roof" Mat said quietly. "You managed to light Cain on fire, and we got away."

_Cain?_ Chris wondered. _Who's Cain?_

"We're…safe?"

Mat nodded. "Yeah." He looked up at the sky, where the faint whipping sound of the chopper could be heard. "And it's about time to go home, don't you think?"

"Home" Rebecca repeated, her voice quiet. "I think you might be right." She smiled faintly.

"Rebecca, can you hear me?" Jill asked, her voice sounding fearful.

The sole survivor of STARS Bravo team nodded.

"Good. Now, I need you to stay awake? Can you do that for me? Can you stay awake?"

"I-I think so" Rebecca answered, after a moment. "It's just…hard to focus. I think I may have gotten a concussion."

"I'm so sorry!" Mat stammered. "Shit, this is all my fault. If I'd-"

"Dawson?"

"Yes, sir?"

Barry smiled. "Shut up. I've seen people walk away from worse. She's gonna be fine."

_And the poor kid's just gonna scare her, if she's even with it enough right now to _be_ scared_ Chris thought. He shook his head. _These two are gonna need all sorts of therapy after all this. There's no way they're old enough for all this._ He snorted. _Hell, neither am I-_

"HELLO DOWN THERE!" For once, Chris could honestly say he was glad to hear Brad's voice, even magnified as it was over the chopper's loudspeaker. "YOU FOLKS READY TO GO HOME?"

"Home" Rebecca repeated weakly.

"Rebecca, do you think you can move on your own?"

She nodded weakly. "Maybe…but can somebody help me? I don't think I can balance all that well."

Jill smiled. "Lean on me, buddy. C'mon, we're going home."

Jill and Mat helped her up, Rebecca putting an arm over Jill's neck. Mat looked a little unsteady on his feet (_probably the only reason he didn't offer to help Rebecca himself_ Chris realized), as if he was about to go down himself.

"You okay?" Chris asked him.

The kid from SWAT nodded weakly. "Yeah. Just…pain meds are wearing off." He sighed, laughing painfully. "That didn't take long at all-"

Suddenly, there was a loud cracking noise. Chris looked down to see a spider web of fractures spreading across the concrete surface of the mansion's roof. A large portion of it caved in, revealing a dark hole below.

There was a bestial roar from below, and something leapt out of the darkness.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" Brad shouted over the loudspeaker. "I CAN'T LAND WITH IT THERE!"

"Well, if you ask _politely_" Jill said, irritation in her voice, "maybe he'll go away."

"Shit" Mat muttered. "Is anything _else_ I've killed gonna come back?"

The Tyrant growled deep in its throat, turning toward them. Its grey, corpse like body was covered with red bumps, like tumors, and it had a set of dark colored wounds down its front and back where Mat had shot it with the P90. More than that, though, was the change in its expression. Before, Tyrant had seemed mindless. _Now it looks pissed_ Chris realized.

The hole it had opened in the roof's ceiling was between Chris, Barry, and the others. They opened fire, their bullets striking the monster's back.

Its eyes seemed to settle on Jill and Rebecca. It turned its full attention toward them, ignoring the fire Chris, Barry, and Mat were throwing its way. Its arm blade tensed slightly, and Chris knew what was coming next.

"Watch out!" he shouted, feeling helpless.

Jill saw what was coming too. She threw Rebecca one direction, lunging in the other…but trying to protect her injured teammate cost her time. Tyrant caught her with the flat of his blade-like hand, slamming her against the closed elevator doors. She slid down them with a groan, and was still.

Rebecca rose shakily to her feet, her Samurai Edge griped tightly in both hands. She opened fire on the monster as it approached Jill's still form, drawing its attention. Tyrant began to stride toward Rebecca purposefully…just as the slide locked back on her handgun.

"THREE MINUTES UNTIL DETONATION" intoned the cheerful, precise, foreign sounding computerized voice.

Then a new sound joined the gunfight; Mat's SMG ripped into the monster's back, causing it to jerk. But this time the bullets didn't over penetrate. Somehow, in the last hour, the monster had managed to grow a thicker skin. _We're up shit creek_ Chris realized.

Tyrant spun to face the new threat, bellowing with rage. It charged at Mat, its huge heart thumbing like a timpani, its arm raised to strike.

Barry slammed into it full force, knocking the monster off balance, causing it to stumble to the left a few steps. "How about _this_?" Barry demanded, leveling the Silver Serpent and firing three shots into the monster's chest.

Tyrant turned to face him, bellowing in anger. It balled up a fist, sending Alpha team's weapons specialist sprawling. The monster moved in for the kill, only to have Mat step between them, a shiny, chromed handgun in his hands. "This one's for Enrico" he said grimly, firing the weapon Tyrant's face.

It staggered back, blood puffing up around the wound. But it ignored what should have been a lethal wound just as it had all their other weapons. It raised its arm back to run Mat through, only to have two bullets strike its shoulder. It turned to confront Jill, a strange, antique looking lever action gun in her hands. "That's right" she said calmly. "Over here, dickhead! Come to me!"

Tyrant obliged, rushing toward her. Rebecca slid a new magazine into her handgun and opened fire, apparently hoping to attract its attention, but it was focused on Jill. It raised an arm and swung, slashing the shotgun in half and nearly splitting Jill open. She staggered back, drawing her handgun calmly and opened fire.

Just then Barry and Mat shot it again with their magnums, and it spun back toward them, rushing with its arms held back. They threw themselves in opposite directions, causing Tyrant to dash past them before it could come to a stop.

Both stood again, firing another shot each into Tyrant's back.

The slide on Mat's magnum locked back. "I'm out" he said simply, tucking the weapon into his waistband and leveling the P90.

Chris had been firing on it the entire time, but Tyrant had ignored him apparently deciding the shotgun was no longer even a passing threat. He kept firing regardless, finally throwing the weapon away when it dry clicked empty and pulling out his Samurai Edge. He felt so useless.

"HEADS UP!"

Chris looked up to see the helicopter hovering about ten feet over the mansion. Tyrant looked up as well, reaching for the chopper with its blade arm, as if confused about its nature.

A large metallic box clattered to the concrete roof.

"USE IT!" Brad shouted, pulling the chopper back into the air. "KILL THIS THING!"

"Got it!" Chris shouted. "Cover me!"

Barry and Mat, the only ones who still had their weapons, intensified their fire. Chris saw Barry shove the Silver Serpent into its holster and pull out his special Samurai Edge; saw Mat sling the P90 a second later and go for his 9mm. But all Chris's attention was on the rocket Brad had thrown down. Surely _that_ would take it down…

"Watch out!" Rebecca shouted, a second before something whipped into Chris's face and sent him ass over tea kettle.

He landed on his back, Tyrant standing over him. Somehow the monster had managed to get halfway across the roof in nothing flat. Worse, it seemed to recognize what the rocket launcher was. It was standing between it and Chris, slowly advancing.

_Oh shit_.

Tyrant raised its claw over its head, then brought it down. Chris rolled out of the way, bringing up his handgun and firing wildly at the huge monster's body. Its eyes remained locked on him, the beast slowly circling back around, looking for an avenue of attack. Only Barry was firing a magnum; everyone else had gone back to a handgun. Chris could see the weapons expert moving closer, firing his Samurai Edge into Tyrant's back, trying to get its attention.

"Turn around, you bastard" he muttered. "Turn around-"

Suddenly, Tyrant obliged, swinging back toward Barry with lighting speed. It slashed with its long claws, then grabbed Barry by the throat and lifting him into the air. Barry dropped his magnum, prying at Tyrant's fingers with both hands, the monster bringing its claw back to run him through, even as the surviving STARS and Mat kept firing at it from all directions.

Then Barry pulled something out of his vest: a small, blue, cylindrical object, about the size and shape of a can of soda. Chris remembered seeing him pull it out of Wesker's pocket earlier, but hadn't recognized it.

Now he did.

"Say cheese, motherfucker" Barry growled, pulling the pin on the flash bang.

Chris saw what was coming and shielded his tightly closed eyes. A second later, there was a deafening BANG, and he knew it was safe to look around.

Tyrant had dropped a dazed Barry, rubbing at its ruined eyes with its less mutated arm. Rebecca and Mat were both making similar motions; clearly they hadn't expected the flash bang.

As for Jill…

"Now Chris!" she mouthed (and probably shouted, although after the flash bang Chris couldn't hear anything), pointing to the rocket launcher.

_Not gonna _get_ a better shot than this_ he realized, and dove forward.

The rocket was fully loaded and ready to fire, something for which Chris was profusely thankful. He placed the weapon up on his shoulder, staring down its rather primitive sights. His finger tensed on the trigger…

"Shoot, damn it!" Jill shouted, just as the automated voice announced "ONE MINUTE UNTIL DETONATION."

Barry recovered enough to roll out of the way. Not having to worry about collateral damage, Chris fired.

Some sixth sense caused Tyrant to swing around and face the rocket head on. Even with the anti-armor round streaking toward it, the monster stood its ground. It raised an arm, as if it planned to bat the tank buster away.

It didn't work.

There was a loud bang, loud enough for Chris to hear over the ringing in his ears from Barry's flash bang. The rocket tore Tyrant apart, scattering pieces of the enormous nightmare in all directions.

The rocket launcher slid from Chris's shoulder. "Try coming back from _that._"

Then he looked up. The chopper was nearing, the side door swung open.

"HURRY" Brad was shouting. "WE'VE GOTTA GO!"

Chris didn't want to leave the rocket launcher or Richard's shotgun behind. He scooped the weapon up, then ran toward the chopper, one in each hand. He saw Jill helping Barry aboard, saw Rebecca and Mat climbing in after them. Then he had leapt aboard himself, and saw shouting to Brad. "Go, go, go!"

The chopper rose into the air, turning and heading back toward Raccoon City. Less than thirty seconds later, the mansion flew in all directions as the powerful explosives Rebecca and Mat had armed blasted it to pieces.


	28. Epilogue: Thus Always to Tyrants

Epilogue: Thus Always to Tyrants

(CHRIS)

The rocket launcher back in its wrack, Richard's shotgun on the deck plates of the chopper in front of him, Chris felt like he could finally catch his breath. It had been a long night, but it was finally over.

Barry had climbed into the co-pilot's seat. Ordinarily Chris would've been there, but he was exhausted. If Brad couldn't get them home on his own, then it just wasn't meant to be.

Rebecca and Mat were on the bench opposite him and Jill. They were slumped against each other, eyes closed, their heads resting against one another. Chris couldn't tell if they were asleep or unconscious, but either way he figured they could probably use the rest.

Jill had conked out almost immediately too, as if she'd been holding it together right up until they got onboard the chopper. Her head was resting on his shoulder, and her steady breathing was somehow…relaxing to him. He didn't know what to make of that, and decided he was just too tired to worry about it in any case.

He could see the smoke rising from the destroyed mansion. He knew he ought to feel triumphant, but…

Somehow, he felt like this was only the beginning.

The worst was yet to come.

**END**

**That's the end of **_**Evil…Redefined**_**. Thanks to all of you who've read this story (special thanks going to Jammer69ner, who has stayed with me through the entire time I've been working on this project). Please favorite if you liked my work, and please, please, **_**please**_**review. As of now, this story has exactly three reviews, most of which are from the same person. Please tell me what you think!**

** Thanks again for reading!**

** -Godzillafan93**


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